Sixth of June
by ScarlettMae
Summary: June Nichols went to war instead of her brother. After years of fighting she finally gets assigned to a platoon that accepts her. For the first time she experiences what brotherhood really means. Will initial friendships blossom into romantic relationships during this period of death?
1. Day By Day

**SIXTH OF JUNE**

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Hi! Welcome to my first Fury story! As a big fan of Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan this film really took me by surprise and I loved every second of it. I just wanted to give a head's up with some of the things that feature in this story as I understand not all people will want to read about it. As a woman in the army in 1945 I would be lying if my OC wasn't met with constant misogynism and catcalls among other stuff. Don't say I didn't give a warning!

Anyway, the rest of the story will mostly focus on individual relationships and I eventually do want to set up for a romance but I'm not sure about that yet. I have some stuff in my head I want to write about but I'd first like to read all of your reactions.

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**DAY BY DAY**

The mud made it hard for her to walk. It felt as if her heavy boots kept sucked into the mud, dragging her down. The fact that the boots were a few sizes too big did not help either. When joining the army in the place of her brother, they had issued her with clothing meant for him. Her brother Daniel was about a half a feet bigger than she was, resulting in all of her clothing being way to big for her frame.

June's eyes darted around the camp, trying to find Sgt. Collier. It was like finding a needle in a haystack. Everyone wore the same green army uniform, had the same convenient haircut, and everyone was male. Except for a few nurses, June had not come across any female soldier apart from herself. Maybe it was because she had broken a lot of rules by joining the army in someone else's name. Even her dog tag which she always wore around her neck didn't not feature her own name.

It took her a few minutes before she found her new platoon sergeant. While dragging herself through the mud, she was met with comments all around her. The soldiers weren't used to seeing a girl around, especially a female soldier. June learned to ignore their comments. She focused her gaze on the man she had been desperately trying to find for the past fifteen minutes.

"Sgt. Collier?" June began carefully, holding the strap of her M1 tightly so it wouldn't slide of her shoulder. With her other hand she wiped the sweat of her forehand. She always laughed about how she was named after her least favorite season. She'd have a cold winter any day.

Sgt. Collier turned around and faced June. He cocked his eyebrow as his eyes scanned her body. June figured he was probably wondering why the fuck she was standing in front of him right now, wearing an army uniform.

"I'm your replacement?" she continued when she failed to get a response from him.

"You're a woman," Sgt. Collier simply stated.

From the corner of her eyes June saw the rest of his men climbing off their Sherman tank, quietly shuffling closer to see what was going on.

"You got a problem with that?" June shot back.

A soft smile appeared on his lips. He shook his head. "As long as you do what I say then no."

He started to move closer to the tank. His men quickly went back to their posts, pretending to be working on cleaning their guns but June knew they were trying their best to hear everything from their conversation. June followed him closely.

"Where is your stuff?" Collier asked, looking down at her feet, noting the absence of a bag.

"Still at the relocation post," June replied. "They told me not to bother bringing it. They doubted you'd take me."

Collier cocked his eyebrow, resting his right hand on his beloved tank.

"You wouldn't be the first to turn me down, sir," she explained.

"Have you ever been in combat?" Collier asked. June didn't blame them for asking her questions. She had answered so many of them since she had arrived here in Europe.

June nodded. "Many times, sir."  
"Killed someone?"

She nodded again. "Twenty-three that I know of. Maybe more."

Collier looked at her quite astonished, making June a little uncomfortable. She was no different from any other soldier. She was just as prepared to fight for her country as they were. Women could be fighters as well.

"What's your name, soldier."

"Nichols. June Nichols."

His eyes scanned her entire body again. I must be an odd sight, June thought. Her clothes were too big, her hair full of tangles even though she tried to braid her auburn hair it as carefully and tightly as possible, her face hadn't been washed in a week. She couldn't even remember the last time she shaved her legs.

"Let me introduce you to the rest of the men," Collier said.

"You're serious about taking her in?" a solider lying on top of the tank spoke. He turned his head to look at June.

"Yes," Collier said. "We can still reassign her to other unit if necessary. Everyone deserves a chance."

June's eyes shifted between the soldier and her Sergeant. She had already expected this hostility, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. One thing that women were amazing at was wrapping men all around her little finger.

"Anyway," he continued while he began pointing to each of individual man. "That dickhead is Grady but you can call him Coon-Ass if you want. Then we have Gordo and Bible. Anyone of them gives you any trouble, come talk to me."

June nodded, desperately trying to remember their names. Goddamn why did everyone have the same haircut?

"Sgt. Collier?" a runner spoke up. "Cpt. Waggoner is looking for you."

Collier nodded and off he was, leaving June alone in the company of her new platoon. Quietly she awaited their reactions, already preparing herself for the worst.

"We'd better get your bag back then," the one she remembered as Bible spoke.

June's lips curled into a soft smile. "Thanks," she spoke as she watched Bible slide off the tank.

She waited for him to catch up with her before she started walking. Across the field she spotted Collier talking to a superior. They were laughing with each other, playfully pushing each other around. It was clear to see these guys all had been together for a long time.

"I don't know what is more dangerous," Bible began, chuckling. "Operation Overlord or a woman walking across this camp full of horny soldiers."

June snickered. "I'm carrying a weapon, you know."

There was a sense of truth in Bible's words. Many times did she had to fight the men off her back. Women were scarce during a war, and when one was walking across your camp they simply couldn't help themselves. June already liked Bible for recognizing that danger. Maybe he was not like all the other men throwing themselves at her.

"So, where did you get your nickname?" June asked, after she figured his real name could not possibly be Bible.

His hand reached inside of his jacket and he pulled out a small book. He held up the cover for her to read. Bible, it said.

"Speaks for itself," he said, sliding the book back in his jacket.

"I bet you're all wondering what the hell I'm doing here?" June said, cutting straight to the chase.

"Yes, ma'am."

They went around the corner. Her boots got stuck in the mud in the exact same spot as before. June made a mental note to steal another pair of socks somewhere even though she was already wearing two pairs.

When a tent full of soldiers playing cards spotted her they began shouting. June simply ignored their catcalls, as she always did, but Bible seemed to be stunned by the phenomenon.

"Best thing to do is to ignore it," she explained when they were past the tent. "I can't take on twenty guys by myself, even though I'd liked to"

"I would have gladly taken them on with you," he replied.

"Thanks," June smiled. "That's the first time someone has said something like that since I've came to Europe."

She was met with some more stunned expressions when she told her old commander she had come to fetch her bag. They were initially reluctant to give it back to her, not completely believing someone had taken her in, but luckily Bible was there to back her up.

"What happened to your old platoon?" Bible asked when they where heading back. He decided to head back another way so they didn't have to pass the infamous tent again, but it was of no use. She was met with the same reactions in another tent.

"They all died."

"Oh," Bible replied awkwardly.

"It's fine," June shrugged. "Didn't like any of them anyway. Gave me nothing but slack during the months I've been with them."

She spotted the tank that would be her new home in the distance. It had the word 'Fury' painted across the barrel of the 75 mm gun. She liked that. She liked that they had so much pride in their job.

Collier had also returned when they arrived back. He announced they would be heading out soon so it would be best to pack up everything so they could leave quickly.

Bible helped June get her bag safely strapped on the tank. She smiled thankfully before turning around. Grady was standing right behind her, uncomfortably close.

"I'll help you get up there," he spoke.  
June narrowed her eyes, not quite sure what his intentions were. But she didn't want to make a bad name for herself on her first day. She needed everyone to like her. This was not going to be like it was with her old platoon.

Grady put his hands together so she could place her foot in them. June was still very suspicious of him. From the moment she had lay her eyes on him she knew he wasn't like Bible or even Collier. He was exactly like all the other soldiers.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she felt his hands on her ass to boost her up. When she was standing on the tank she shot around. Her eyes spitting fire. So much for trusting in him to be different.

"If you ever lay your hands on me again I'll cut off your balls with my bayonet while you're sleeping and serve them to our prisoners of war as dessert."

Bible and Gordo who had been chatting away grew silent. Coon-Ass looked at her as if he had seen a ghost. She even managed to grab Collier's attention.

"You understand me?" June demanded when he seemed at a loss for words.

"Yes, ma'am," Grady replied, still in a state of shock.

"Glad this is settled," she said before sliding inside of the tank where she laid her eyes on what would be her new home for the first time.

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**A/N: **Please leave a review and hopefully until next time!


	2. The Devil Is A Woman

**THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN**

While tanks looked huge on the outside, the inside was an entirely different story. Few people felt comfortable being crammed in a tiny space with four other people. June counted herself lucky she actually quite liked it. She liked the confined space. It felt secure.

She climbed past part of the 76mm gun and slid into her own seat. From here she could hardly move. Above her was a hatch which could be closed off during battles. Right now the hatch was left open so the musty air inside of the tank could escape.

"I like her already," she heard Gordo say which was followed by a loud groan which could only belong to Grady.

She couldn't help but smile a little. Apart from Grady they had all made her feel at home. Even Collier, though he was a little distant, appeared to like her.

"Let's mount up!" Collier shouted and it didn't take long for the rest of the guys to fill up the tank.

Collier remained standing outside of the hatch in the middle of the tank but popped his head inside and said: "You good in there, Nichols?"

"Yes, Sergeant!" she replied. She was exactly where she was supposed to be.

"June, you never told me what you're doing here," Bible said after they had taken off. The noise the tank generated soothed her.

"Oh right," she remembered. "Well, long story short, I didn't want my little brother to go so I went in his place."

June reached inside of her jacket, under her shirt, and pulled out her dog tag, handing it to Bible. "Army obviously didn't want me to join but apparently I was persuading enough. They hadn't bothered with changing my dog tag though. If I die I'll be remembered as Daniel Nichols."

"That's actually a really brave thing to do," Bible replied before giving her her tag back.

"Thank you," she replied. June was glad you couldn't see her blushing inside of the tank. Now she had earned the reputation as merciless killer due to her little talk with Grady she needed to keep that up.

"Hey, June," Gordo began.

She responded by putting her head up the hatch. They were stuck in a large convoy of other tanks. There was no need really for a second driver here so she had spent her time talking to Bible inside. She knew both Grady and Collier had been listening to her talking even though they hadn't let that on.

"Your brother is still alive?"

June shook her head. "He better be otherwise I would be on the first ship heading home."

"Hey, you know how to drive this thing?" he asked her.

"Yeah of course I do."

"Great. Our last driver didn't know. Now I can take some naps while you drive."

The fact that Gordo trusted her with the tank meant a great deal to her. She had begun to cross the line of being a woman to being a soldier.  
June decide to stay up there with her head popped out of the hatch. Everyone inside of the tank grew silent as they all watched the road, war on their mind. The open countryside slowly began to change into woodland. The forest grew thicker with every mile they advanced. June preferred the open fields of the countryside. It was terribly easy for the Germans to attack them. The forest provided for perfect concealment.

"Nichols," Collier spoke over the comm. It took her a few seconds to realize he had said her name. "Keep your eyes open. This is a perfect place for an ambush."

And so she did. Her eyes shifted all over the place, trying to distinguish anything uncommon among the trees. But so far she saw nothing. Riding a tank was not exactly a smooth ride. It proved to be difficult to keep her vision steady.

But then she saw something moving. June narrowed her eyes, trying to increase her focus. Her heart began to beat faster. She couldn't see if it was a harmless animal, or an enemy.

"I'm seeing something," she said over the comm so everyone could hear. "Two o'clock. Moving close to the ground. Could be an animal."

"Can't be an animal. They disappear whenever they hear the sound of us approaching," Grady replied.

June tried to look again. "He has a gun. I can see it," she suddenly said when the figure seemed to come into view. He moved from one tree to another.

"I'm seeing it as well," Gordo confirmed.

"Yeah, I see it too," Collier spoke. "You see any more of them?"

"Negative," she replied. "I can only see one."

"This is Wardaddy," Collier said in the general comm that could be heard among the entire convoy of tanks. "Possible German has been spotted among the trees. We're sending someone over to check."

Their tank came to a halt, followed by all the other tanks behind them. June kept a close eye on the German. She knew he knew they were here. It was impossible for him to not have spotted and heard the large convoy approaching.

"Grady, Bible," Collier began. "Go check that shit out."

"Why me?" Grady defied. "Send the new one."

June stopped breathing. She would be lying if she said she wasn't afraid of whatever was out there. She'd rather stay safely inside of the secure tank, protected by its walls.

It was silent for a moment. "You up for it?" Collier asked June.

"Yeah," June spoke, realizing she had to prove herself, especially to Grady. "I'll go."

"Okay, get your guns. Cover each other's backs. We'll provide back up with the 76mm."

Adrenaline took over her body. Without realizing she found herself climbing out of the tank, followed by Bible.

She had left any unnecessary items behind, only taking her gun, sidearm, her helmet, ammo and a few of hand grenades just in case. Bible had done the same. They needed to walk quickly and walk quietly.

Bible took the initiative and led her through the forest. They were trying to be as quiet as possible, but the breaking twigs and crackling leafs under their heavy boots were hard to silence.

June held her breath as they advanced through the forest, right through to where she had seen the German. She never lost her focus. Her eyes were darting around the place, looking for danger. It was reassuring to know the rest of the platoon had their backs, yet they were out here pretty much unprotected.

Bible stopped in his tracks. He turned around to face June and gave her a silent nod. June looked, she too saw the German sitting against a tree, trying to conceal himself. He had opened a pack of what looked like rations, completely oblivious who where approaching him.

Bible jumped in front of him, his gun pointed at the enemy. June did the same, just in case he decided to do anything. No one would get shot on her first day. Not on her watch.

The German's eyes grew wild upon the sight of them. He sprung upwards, his rations dropping out of his hands. He tried to reach for his gun but Bible decided to interfere before he could.

"NO!" he spoke, angrily. "Don't you dare."

He raised his hands. June immediately acted and moved forward to retrieve his gun from the holster he was trying to reach for. She continued by patting down every possible spot where he could've hidden more weapons. In the process she retrieved one stick grenade.

"That's it," she breathed when she was done. Her eyes moved to the grenade in her hands. If he had spotted them earlier and had thrown this at them, they would've been dead in an instant. She had seen grenades kill soldiers many times before.

"Come on," Bible said. He motioned with his gun for the German to start walking.

He hesitated for a moment, but when he received a push in the back from the barrel of June's M1 he quickly started to walk.

"Do you speak German?" June asked, suddenly realizing she couldn't and she didn't know whether Bible could. In her last platoon they didn't had anyone speaking German, resulting in a lot of heated arguments as to what the Germans meant whenever they caught one.

Bible shook his head. "No, but Wardaddy can."

They followed their path back to the tanks. June already spotted her tank which had the word 'Fury' painted on the barrel in bright white paint from a distance. The closer they got the more secure she began to feel.

"What's he doing here?" Collier asked. He took off his helmet and jumped off the tank, quickly closing in on them.

"Well, I don't know. We don't speak German remember?" Bible replied snarky.

June's eyes followed Collier closely. He radiated anger. His eyes were spitting fire. His fingers were flexing.

Once he stood before the German, grabbing him by the collar of his jacket, she noticed how big he was. He towered over all of them. He clenched his jaw before speaking directly to the German, who still had his hands up, softly muttering in German.

"Was haben Sie dort gemacht?" Collier spoke in a heavy American accent. June tried to quickly translate what he was saying, but her limited knowledge of German didn't get her very far.

The German continued muttering words. Collier didn't receive the answer he wanted.

"Bist du allein?" he continued. "Wo sind die anderen?"

Collier asked many questions but received no answers at all. The German seemed to be glued to the ground, not moving an inch. June knew they were scaring him. They would never get an answer from him like this.

"Grady, get him on his knees," Collier ordered while he took his sidearm from its holster. He loaded the gun.

Grady kicked the German in the back of his knees, causing him to collapse forward into the mud. "Fucking kraut," he muttered while he grabbed him and placed him upwards again on his knees.

"Are we just gonna kill him?" June spoke up, her heart pounding her chest. She knew this was war. Casualties were inevitable, but the guy had surrendered.

"He surrendered! He's a prisoner of war now."

"How are we gonna take him with us, huh?" Grady spat. "Tie him to the back of a tank? Hope he walks along? Wanna give up your seat for him?"

June grew quiet. She knew Grady was right. There was no place for him. It was impossible for them to take him with them, deliver him to the authorities.

"Tie him to a tree," she suddenly spoke again. "Leave him for someone else to find."

"Can't do that," Collier replied. "If he gets retrieved by the Germans he'll know exactly where we are."

June turned her head when she saw Sgt. Binkowski approaching. "What are we waiting for?" he said.

Gordo pointed to the German. "Tiny problem."

"Oh for fuck's sake," Binkowski exclaimed. "Please kill him. This road is perfect for an ambush."

Collier nodded. "You," he said, pointing to June. "You do it."

June jerked her head from Binkowski to Collier. "You serious?" she spoke.

"Do I look like I'm joking?"

She heard Grady snickering softly. They probably all thought she couldn't do it. There was a huge difference between being able to do it, and not wanting to do it. She still firmly believed this man surrendered and deserved to live. But she finally found a decent platoon, she couldn't jeopardize that by refusing to kill a German - who in the end was still their enemy. Would he had let her live if he was in her place? Her eyes scanned the back of his head. _He'd probably kill me in an instant._

June sighed. Collier extended his arm so he could hand her his sidearm, but she refused and pulled her own gun. She moved behind the German and raised the gun high. Everyone was watching her closely. Quietly she counted to three.

The shot echoed loudly through the forest.

_Number twenty-four_, she thought as she watched the man go down.

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**A/N: **Thank you all for the amazing responses to far. One reader pointed out that Fury has a 76mm gun, hence the change. Please point out any more historical mistakes if you find them, I'm far from a historian and I'll be happy to change the mistakes. Please let me know what your thoughts were and until next time :)


	3. First a Girl

They continued their journey in silence. The only sound accompanying them was the roaring engine of their tank. Sometimes they heard bursts of rounds going off, but they appeared to be fired from miles away that none of them worried it about it.

June had her hatch closed off like Gordo. They were peering out through their optics, seeing just enough of the road to navigate their tank through the rubble left behind by others. Her optics provided her with a slightly distorted view of the world, but after a while she'd grow used to it.

Gordo wanted to break the silence. She had seen him opening his mouth multiple times already, but nothing came out. Instead he seemed to be thinking to himself, opting breaking the silence wasn't the best idea.

For a moment she thought about talking as well, as she noticed he clearly was uncomfortable with the silence, but then she remembered what Collier made her do. He forced her into a position she did not want to be in. Even though it was not the first man she had killed, far from it, it was just that she had rather not done it. June wanted to keep her conscience clear, but the war was proving to be hard on her.

The crackling sound in her earpiece made her jump a little. It was always an indication someone was about to speak.

"This is Wardaddy," she heard her own sergeant speak. "We are approaching a town. I suggest we take up shelter there for the night. Head out early tomorrow. How copy?"

The crackling sound began again as soon as Collier finished speaking.

"Best idea you ever had, Wardaddy."

"You think they have something to drink in one of those houses?" Gordo finally spoke since Collier had broken the silence.

June narrowed her eyes to look at the houses that grew larger and larger as they got closer. What she would give to sleep in a proper bed tonight. Her old platoon never let her. God, she was glad they were dead.

"I fucking hope so," she replied softly.

They gathered all their armored vehicles in the town square. Houses surrounded them and before getting out they quickly looked for any snipers, but the town was eerily empty.

June opened her hatch, breathing in the fresh air. Her eyes scanned the houses. Each and every one of them looked abandoned. The families that once lived in them had packed up what they could pack and left, leaving behind only a haunting presence. The entire east side of the square had been bombed. Plumes of smoke were still going up, as a final reminder of what had happened here. This was the true face of war.

She slid off the tank, patiently waiting for Collier to decide what building was theirs. Gordo and Bible stood next to her, while Grady stayed behind, leaning against the tank. June knew it would take more than killing one nazi to convince him.

"Take that one, three o'clock," Collier spoke after he had spoken with the other sergeants.

June turned her head. Collier had claimed a white family home. The red roof looked like it was about to cave in. The windows were all open. Blue curtains were floating in the wind. The flowers in their little boxes that hung from the windows were still blooming, a sign that whoever had been living there had just left.  
"I'll lead," Grady quickly said. He jogged towards them, stepping out in front.

She raised her Thompson M1. Even though the buildings all looked deserted, looks could be deceiving.

With her finger on the trigger she followed Grady and Gordo. Bible covered her back as they slowly entered the building. They entered a hallway with a flight of stairs leading to the second level. Grady immediately disappeared in the room on the left and Gordo in the one on the right. They both yelled "Clear!" after a few seconds and they proceeded out into the kitchen.

June opened the door out in the garden. Her eyes scanned all the bushes, the outhouse, behind the shed, but there was no one.

"Clear!" she too shouted.

Bible now led them upstairs, where they were faced with three bedrooms and a bathroom. They too were empty and they quickly claimed the house as their own for the night.

The boys were soon off looting, trying to find valuable stuff to take home. June never really liked doing that. Instead, she claimed the smallest bedroom which seemed to have belonged to a girl about her age. The wallpaper was a soft pink, with a line roses going around the border. The mahogany furniture looked expensive and it reminded her of her own bedroom a bit.

She let herself fall back on the bed. The only thing she wanted was a good nights sleep. No expensive set of cutlery, gun or jewelry could compare to that.

"You good in here?" Bible asked, popping his head around the door.

June smiled softly. "I'm fine, thanks."

"You want me to find you anything nice?" he then asked.

"No you can all keep it."

Bible smiled and disappeared again. In the background she could hear Grady and Gordo arguing about who had seen a pair of silver candle sticks first.

June tried to block the noise out and pushed herself up from the bed again. She shuffled closer to the closet in the back, wondering what was inside. It seemed like the previous owner of this house was pretty wealthy. Gorgeous dresses were hanging neatly in the closet. June felt some of them were even made of silk when she ran her fingers across the fabrics. What she would give to wear something like that again, but the thought of the remarks she would get turned her off. She would give the boys as little reason as possible to taunt her.

As a mark of her claiming the bedroom, she put her jacket and her weapon on the bed. This bed was hers, at least for this night.

She made her way downstairs again, where most of the noise seemed to be coming from. June noticed that Collier now had arrived as well. He was seated at the kitchen table, his feet up the table and a week old newspaper in his hands. She admired his knowledge of the German language.

Curiously she started to explore the kitchen. When she found the pantry she noticed that it was still stocked. Cans of soup, meat balls, eggs, stale bread. Her fingers found a jug of milk but she quickly smelled it had spoiled. Her stomach rumbled at the sight of the food.

"I can cook us some dinner, if that's okay?" she offered, turning her torso to face Collier.

He lifted his eyes from the newspaper. "By all means. We could use a good meal."

And so she spent the next half-hour preparing the stuff she had found. The smell of warm tomato soup quickly filled the kitchen and it didn't take long for the rest of the platoon to find their way to the source of the smell.

While Gordo and Bible quickly hurried towards her to see what she was doing, Grady remained at a distance. He sat besides Collier and stared in front of him.

"Bible, can you help me with the plates?" June asked.

It took him a few seconds to locate the plates but he pulled them out quickly enough. June went by them one by one, filling large mugs with the soup since she couldn't find anything else that fast, and dressing their plates with eggs and meatballs.

She couldn't wait to dig in herself, but before she was able to, Bible cleared his throat.

"Really?" Gordo complained. "I don't want it to get cold!"

"He'll be brief," Collier ordered sternly.

Bible nodded and continued to say grace. It had been a while since June heard someone say grace. While the rest of them had closed their eyes, she couldn't help but glance at the platoon that surrounded her. For a moment, they looked like a family, waiting to tuck in their dinners. For a moment, they didn't look like soldiers.

They didn't waste a second after he had said amen. They all dug into their food as quickly as they could, shoving their eggs in their mouths. Gordo had found a stash of liquor they had been drinking from as eagerly as they had been eating their food.

"How long will we be staying?" Grady asked. June noticed how he had avoided eye contact with her at all costs.

"As long as we have to," Collier said. "I'm hoping we can stay here for another night."

"Would be a good idea," Bible agreed. "We need some supplies anyway. We've almost run out of rations."

"Ammo is running low as well," Grady noted.

June ate the final bite of her meat ball which she washed down with a gulp of the wine Gordo had found.

"I'll try to make it happen," Collier said.

"This was delicious, June," Bible said.

She smiled thankfully. "There is still some left which we can eat tomorrow. Or we can bring it if we have to leave."

Her eyes met with Collier's. She tried to read his expression but it proved to be impossible. His face was blank. Maybe he was trying to read her expression as well.

June spent the rest of the evening cleaning herself in the bathroom. She had locked the door tightly before turning on the tap to check if they were still working. There was no warm water, but she didn't mind washing herself with the cold. She just wanted to be clean, rub off the dirt and the blood. It was as if she started with a clean sheet.

After she was done she slipped across the hallway, her wet hair up in a towel. She had quickly put on her pants and shirt again, as she didn't feel comfortable about walking around in just a towel, not with four (probably) drunk men around.

"June," she heard someone say when she was halfway across the hallway. She turned her head to see Collier was talking to her. By the looks of it he had claimed the master bedroom right next to hers.

She carefully entered his room, standing on her tiptoes as her feet were still a bit wet and she didn't want to make the dirt of the floor stick to her soles. She raised her eyebrows awaiting for him to speak.

"You're doing good," he spoke. "You're a lot better than I expected."

Butterflies were rising in her stomach and all of a sudden she felt nervous. "Thanks," she stumbled, overwhelmed by the compliment. She was not used to this level of kindness. In an instant she had forgotten all about the prisoner of war she had to kill.

"The guys seem to like you as well."

"Well," June said, cocking her head, rubbing her exposed feet against the back of her leg. "I don't think Grady likes me that much."  
"He doesn't like being put in his place. He'll come around," Collier assured her. "I've already sent a telegram to your commander, telling him he does not have to expect you back."

"Thank you," she stumbled again. "Thank you for giving me a chance. I know that must be hard, since I'm a woman and all."

"I'll admit I was hesitant at first, but then I remembered it is often the women who are the strong ones."

June nodded gratefully. She had really hit the jackpot with this platoon. She would take extra care to make sure she wouldn't fuck this chance up. She would never forgive herself if she had to be transferred again.

"Well, girls see more blood than boys anyway," June chuckled a little awkwardly and she was almost sure she saw Collier smile a little as well.

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**A/N: **I'm glad you all like the story so far. I really enjoy writing it :) Today's also my birthday haha. Anyway, I hope you liked it and please leave a review!


	4. Dangerous

The sound of an explosion woke her up. She opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the harsh lights coming through the sheer curtains. It was quiet now. She could faintly hear the sound of vehicles, men talking, even birds seemed to be chirping again.

It was so tempting to close her eyes again. June couldn't even remember the last time she had slept as well as tonight. The softness of the mattress was a very welcome change to the harshness of the metal of the tank.

She heard Bible say something to Collier. Was she the last one to wake up? Quickly she shot forward, rubbing her eyes before throwing the sheets off her to pull on her clothes. Judging by the sunlight coming through the windows they were in for another hot day, so she decided not to put her jacket on just yet.

The door creaked when it opened and she was immediately face to face with Bible, who was still talking to Collier in the master bedroom. He too had decided it was too hot for a jacket and was leaning against the doorpost.

"Good morning," June said with a soft smile once Bible had spotted her. "Is everyone up already?"

He laughed. "Are you kidding? Coon-Ass and Gordo are passed out downstairs. They went through the entire liquor stash in one night. I wouldn't try to talk to them if I were you."

June chuckled as well. "You had some breakfast already?"

Bible nodded. "Yeah. I left some bread on the table. Help yourself."

And so she did. She quietly went down the stairs, as she didn't want to wake the two boys sleeping. Something told her they would be in quite a mood if she woke them up.

Like Bible had promised, there was still some of the stale bread waiting for her on the kitchen table. To make it a little softer she spread some of the butter still left on top, hoping that hadn't spoiled yet. There was also some tea left which she drank eagerly.

Footsteps were coming down the stairs. June leaned backwards on her chair which was now balancing on only two of its legs. She extended her neck to see who it was. When she spotted Collier she let herself fall forward again and continued eating her slice of bread.  
"I'm heading out to find out what the plans are. You good in here?" Collier asked.

June nodded. "Yeah."

"Tell Bible to wake up those two assholes in case we need to leave soon."

"Yes, sir."

Collier nodded and disappeared again.

Bible had come in just minutes after and was quickly off again to wake Grady and Gordo. By the sounds of it, they were definitely not happy about being woken up. Grady complained about still being drunk and Gordo ran out of the living room, through the kitchen were June was still eating her breakfast, to the outhouse. June left the kitchen. She wasn't going to listen to him throwing up out back. It was too early or that.

"You still in one piece?" she chuckled when she met Bible in the hallway.

He sighed. "I hope they're still in one piece."  
June continued her way upwards to get the rest of her uniform. She didn't want to have to still gather everything if they had to leave right now. She did not want to give them any reason to find her a hindrance.

When she put on her second boot, something whizzed past her ear. June shot around. Tracers. They were being shot at.

Another bullet followed. Someone had spotted her before in the open window. And then hell broke loose.

The entire front of the house seemed to be engulfed with tracers. Some were stopped in the brick exterior, but others managed to find their way in, only missing June by a few inches. She could only hope the rest was not hit because they were taken by surprise.

She grabbed her Thompson from the dresser in the back of the room, crouching low so she couldn't be seen in the window. She couldn't stay upstairs, she needed to be downstairs with the rest. They were stronger together.

Before leaving her bedroom, she stuck her M1 out of the open window and shot a few rounds at nothing, hoping she'd hit something or someone by accident.

June held her breath as she crossed the hallway. When she reached the top of the stairs she noticed that the front door was open.

"Shit," she muttered to herself. "Fucking shit."

The staircase was exactly aligned with the front door. She would be in perfect view for whoever was out there.

"June?" she heard Bible shout from downstairs.

"I'm upstairs!" she replied, trying to raise her voice above the noise coming from all the weapons. "You need to cover from me! The door is still open!"

She placed her foot on the first step down, ready to act when Bible gave her a sign.

He appeared out of the living room on the left of the staircase. He put up his hand and started to count down in silence. On one she darted down the stairs as fast as she could while Bible put his machine gun around the doorpost, trying to cover for her.

But a bullet still managed to graze her. June felt a sharp pain in her right arm but there was no time to look. She wasn't there yet. Just a few more steps and she would be out of sight, in relative safety.

When she put her foot inside of the living room she could breathe again. Her eyes glanced down her arm. It was only a shallow cut of about 2 inches, nothing to worry about.

"You okay?" Bible said while he dropped on his knees to fire his gun out of the window again.

"Yeah. It's nothing," June replied, ignoring the throbbing pain of the cut.

Bible said something to Gordo but she could only hear Gordo reply, "Shut the fuck up, Bible. I can concentrate on only one thing at the time."

This was the absolute worst time to have an ambush. They were caught in complete surprise. Gordo and Grady were barely awake. Bible wasn't properly dressed and Wardaddy was gone.

"Where's Collier?" June suddenly remembered. She had crouched down as well, putting the barrel of her gun out the third and final window of the room. She began to shoot, but the square was absolutely in chaos. There was no way to see who was the enemy and who wasn't.

"I don't know," Bible replied honestly. "I seriously don't know."

If Collier died she was sure she would get reassigned again. He was the one holding this platoon together. Without him, they would fall apart. Please let him be alright, she thought. I've finally found a place where I belong.

There was no further time to dwell on his whereabouts as a German grenade landed right through the window next to Bible and June. They looked down at the smoking grenade before looking up to each other, their eyes grown wide.

Bible quickly grabbed the end of the grenade and threw it out of the window with as much speed as he could.

The grenade exploded midair. The four of them were thrown back, all landing on their backs. June coughed loudly to get the smoke out of her lungs, crawling back on her feet.

"No one hurt?" she asked, trying to find her M1 which she had lost due to the impact.

They all replied and went back into position.

June wiped the sand from her face. So much for cleaning herself the day before.

"We gotta locate where they are shooting from," Grady said.

"They're coming from all sides!" Gordo replied in stress.

June was out of ammo. Before reloading she narrowed her eyes, peering over the edge of the window. She followed the bullets back to its original source.

"I've spotted one of them," she stated. "One o'clock. Behind the stacks of hay. They're using it as a concealment."

"We can never eliminate them. Not unless…" Bible began.

"… we get to the tank," June finished.

Grady and Gordo stopped firing their weapons and looked at them as if they were crazy.

"We'll never make it," Gordo exclaimed.

While they continued ranting about how bad the idea was and about how they should wait for Collier, June continued hatching a plan. She looked out of the window again, ducking for a round of bullets before looking up again. They had parked the tank with the front towards the house. One of them could go out, go in through the escape hatch at the bottom of the hull and open up the driver's hatches. There was no way she could operate the tank all by herself, she needed the rest of them.

"Okay," she began. "Hear me out. I have a plan."

She continued to explain her plan. Bible agreed with her that they needed the tank to stop this. They needed to take out the guns before the Germans could reorganize and they would get overrun.

"What about Wardaddy? We need to wait," Gordo said.

"We can't wait for him," June replied. She was met with angry looks. "Look, I know he's been with you for I don't know how long, but for all we know, he could be dead right now. We can't wait. We have to do this now."

They remained silent, realizing she was right.

"Who of us is -," Bible said, but before he could finish his sentence, June had interrupted him.

"Cover me."

She didn't want to think about this. She needed to do it right now before she changed her mind. Adrenaline was taking over and it wasn't long before she found herself running out into the open. She tried to run in a straight line behind the tank so it could protect her from gunners up ahead all while trying to reload her own gun.

A stray bullet grazed the same arm again, but June had only one objective. She needed to get into that tank before she was killed.

The mere distance she had to cover felt like a mile. She couldn't believe she was still alive when she slid under the tank. Her breathing intensified as she suddenly realized what she was doing. The others had to come to help her. If they left her behind this would be her last day on earth. She had placed her life into the hands of men who had just met her, who probably didn't even like her.

She opened the hatch with ease and pulled herself inside. The tank felt strangely safe. It's exterior was being hit with force by bullets, but they couldn't harm her inside. Not unless the Germans brought out something stronger.

Wasting no time she moved in the driver's seat, pushing the hatch open. Quickly she slid on her own seat, opening that hatch as well. She popped her head outside. June let out a sigh when she saw Bible, Grady and Gordo standing near the doorpost, ready to go. She gave them the nod that it was okay to go.

One by one they ran towards her, climbing on the tank before letting themselves lower through the hatches.

A few minutes later they all found themselves inside, miraculously still alive. They did not waste any time and immediately went to work. Gordo and June closed off their hatches while Bible and Grady began to prepare for an attack.

Gordo began to turn the tank. Immediately they were met by an bombardment of bullets. June couldn't help but chuckle a little. They were back into the game.

"Target is one o'clock!" June shouted, never losing sight of their objective.

Around the tank the shooting had stopped save for the Germans. It seemed as if everyone was in awe with what was happening.

Bible and Grady had worked their magic and it only took them a mere minute before they were ready to shoot.

"On one!" Bible shouted and they took the shot.

It was aimed perfectly. The 75mm gun the Germans had been firing blew apart, debris falling everywhere. Whoever was not killed in the first strike started to fall back.

They fired another.

The Germans were on the run. June tried to shoot down as many as possible with her own gun. She tried to keep count how many she had hit but after a while she had lost count.

"Seize fire!" Gordo shouted. "Seize fire!"

There was no one left to shoot at. They were too far out of reach and they weren't going to waste anymore bullets. Unless they were going to get reinforcements, they were safe. Since the town was not pivotal to anyone, June figured they would be gone for good.

It was silent for a few seconds before they all started to laugh loudly.

"You fucking did it," Bible said, grabbing June by her shoulders, pushing her back and forwards happily. She flinched in pain when he grabbed her, but he didn't seem to notice.

June looked down her right arm again. The second bullet had grazed her deeper than the first.

"You are insane," Gordo said. "Fucking insane, you know that? You could've gotten yourself killed!"

June smiled a little awkwardly. "Anyone would've done the same."

The hatch opened and a familiar voice filled the tank.

"You fucking sons of bitches. I leave you alone for two seconds…" Collier spoke, laughing just as loudly as they were.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you all for the amazing responses to far! For your information, I will not be following the story of the movie. I don't want them to die at the end (haha). I already have some plot lines I'd like to cover and I'll see where I go from there. Thank your for reading and please leave a review and take care! :D


	5. The Mystery Man

June leaned back. She blocked out the noise all around her, listening only to her own breathing. When the reassuring fact that she was still alive calmed her nerves down a bit, she lifted her head and looked down her right arm, trying to see what exactly the damage was.

The bullets had both grazed her just below her elbow, only half an inch from each other. The first one hadn't been that deep, but the second had almost gone through.

"Is anyone of you hurt?" she heard Collier say outside of the tank. She had completely failed to notice the rest of them had climbed out.

Without the adrenaline rushing through her veins the pain was suddenly a lot worse. She pulled herself out of her own metal chair, climbing out without trying to put too much strain on her right arm.

When her eyes adjusted to the light she could see what damage the Germans had caused. What was once a picturesque little village was now a ruin. All the walls were covered with bullet holes. Entire rooms were gone, leaving only gaping holes behind.

Not only the buildings were destroyed. From the corner of her eyes she spotted men being carried away on makeshift stretchers. Medics were busy treating some of the wounds garnered by the violence.

"I think June was grazed a few times," Bible said from a distance.

June slid off the tank and took careful steps towards them. She began to feel a bit unsteady.

Collier stood before her. "Let me see," he ordered.

He grabbed her arm with a surprising tenderness. His fingers pushed some of the fabric that was stuck to her skin away, making her flinch.

"This everything?" he asked her.

June nodded. "Think so."

Collier had his eyes fixed on the cuts. "You need to get stitches."

While his eyes were on her arm, she carefully studied his face, noticing every scar, every wrinkle that was there. She had never really noticed how handsome he was.

"I can do it," Bible suddenly appeared next to them. June took her eyes (somewhat reluctantly) off Collier to face him.

"No," Collier said. "A real medic. You stitch like shit."

Boyd scoffed before giving June a wink. Collier playfully pushed him backwards.

"I'll get someone to sew her up," he said, quickly disappearing in the crowd of soldiers.

"Once you're patched up where getting the fuck out of here," Collier spoke, before disappearing as well.

June placed herself on an upside down crate, stretching her legs before her while she awaited her doctor's appointment. She tried to ignore the pain the best she could, constantly reminding herself it could've been a lot worse.

A group of soldiers suddenly stood before her, blocking the sunshine from reaching her face.

"No shit," one of them spoke.

"So it's true?"

June narrowed her eyes, slightly intimidated by the four soldiers standing right before her. She was already preparing herself for the worst as she didn't feel like fighting back, not today. She was done fighting one enemy and already the next one had lined up to taunt her.

"A girl in the armored division," they snickered.

"You know what the front of that thing is? Do you want me to explain it to you?"

"Why don't you take off your jacket so I can see what you got underneath."

"Ha, she got shot. Twice. There's a reason why girls are weak. What she's doing here anyway?"

They kept on making crude and degrading remarks at her expense, but she was so worn out from the past fight that she couldn't fight this one as well. Instead, she hoped Bible would return soon so maybe they'd back off.

"Hey, you lost your hearing or something?" one of them asked when she didn't reply at any of their remarks.

"How about you all get fucking lost."

Grady suddenly appeared at her side. June looked up at him, wondering if she had dozed off and was dreaming right now. What was he saying? She thought he hated her?

"If it wasn't because of her you would all be dead right now. Show some fucking respect."

June was lost for words. Was she truly witnessing this? Did he just defend her?

The group quickly shuffled away, whispering among each other but it was too soft for June to hear exactly what she was saying.

She looked up to Grady again. "Thank you," she spoke carefully.

His eyes pierced through hers. "What you did was brave. Your a better soldier than they are."

As fast as he had appeared to help her out, as quickly he disappeared again, leaving her behind. She was speechless. Grady was finally coming around. It had taken getting shot twice, but he actually talked to her. Hell, it was even better than that, he defended her, complimented her. This was a victory in its own right.

"Something wrong?" Bible asked, his face puzzled at her expression. He stood before her, a medic at his side.

June remembered to shut her mouth which was hanging open in surprise.

"No," she replied with a soft smile playing on her lips. "Nothing wrong at all."

The medic had her stitched up in no time. June never averted her eyes once, wanting to keep a close tab on everything that was going on around her body. The large cuts had been transformed into neat narrow lines. It was a shame he could do nothing about her jacket being ripped. Finding a replacement was not going to be easy.

She thanked the medic after he had finished and he quickly went to help others. Bible studied the stitchings in her arm in close detail, telling her he wanted to get better at it.

June wanted to tell him about Grady, about what he had done for her, but she decided to keep it for herself for now. She wanted to enjoy that moment for as long as she could.

They were all instructed to get in the tank again as Collier had secured them a new mission.

"Where are we going?" Gordo asked, climbing on the seat next to her before offering her a cigarette. June didn't smoke as often as the boys did, but after today she figured she'd deserve it. Maybe it would even help with clearing her head.

"Next town. Got a couple of infantry boys they want us to give an escort there."

"We going alone?" Grady said.

"The boys of Murder, Inc. and Lucy Sue are going with us for support. This should be a safe one."

"Safe?" Gordo scoffed. "We're never safe here in Germany, man. What type of shit are you on?"

"Shut up, Gordo," Wardaddy replied with. June found a hint of amusement in his voice. He knew Gordo was right. They were never safe. Not in enemy territory.

They had taken off. The village that had been so picturesque yesterday was completely in ruin today. June didn't dwell on it. It was the Germans who were destroying their own country, she didn't feel sorry for them.

"June," she heard Collier say over comm when the village was miles behind them and already a distant memory. "I want you up top, you need some fresh air."

Reluctantly she climbed out of her little seat, over Boyd, and rose next to Collier. She'd rather stay in her seat, where she felt more safe than she felt outside exposed, but she didn't want to argue with him. After all, he was still her superior officer.

"Let me see those stitches," Collier asked.

June turned her torso to show Collier her right arm. The cuts were clearly visible through her jacket which was ripped on the spot where she was hit.

"Looks good," he said. "It doesn't look infected."

She nodded slowly, her eyes glued to her cuts. No doubt they would leave behind a scar, a permanent reminder of this day. Well, it was not exactly like she would forget.

"What was the name of that village?" she suddenly asked, frowning lightly.

"I don't know," Collier replied, chuckling. "You want to visit it after the war?"

He turned his face to her, looking her straight in the eyes. He had raised his eyebrows, awaiting her response.

After the war. June never dared to think that far ahead. The future was uncertain for soldiers in a war. The chances of dying at a random moment in time were great. One stray bullet could end it all. One mistake and she was killed. She couldn't afford to think about the future. She had to live her life day by day.

She failed to reply.

"I made a promise to my crew that I'd keep them alive," Collier started. His eyes were still piercing in hers. "You are part of that now."

Again she failed to come up with a proper response.

When their next objective had come into view she had returned to her little seat, preparing to help out their allies. The plan was to get them safely out of there and into the next village where they would retake a bridge.

They drove into the heart of the village. The narrow streets just fitted the convoy of tanks. It was deserted just like the last one had been. June could only hope they were not heading into a trap.

"There in the building on the right at the end of the street," Collier spoke over the comm. "You can park here, Gordo."

Gordo did what he was told and parked the tank in the middle of the street since there was no where else to securely put it.

"You stay here. Me and Bible will check out what exactly the plans are," Collier announced.

"Sure thing," Grady replied. He leaned back closing his eyes, seizing the opportunity of a quick nap. Both him and Gordo still hadn't quite gotten rid of their hangover yet.

June opened her hatch. She pulled herself out of the tank, sitting on the edge while letting her feet dangle inside the tank. The fresh air always felt so good in her lungs. The tank was a trap for cigarette smoke. Slowly she breathed in and out, watching the soldiers around her. She always loved to observe them. From up here she got a perfect view of everyone around her and the best thing was that nobody paid attention to her while she was up there, out of everyone's eye sight.

She spotted Bible and Collier coming back. She noticed Bible was carrying something. After narrowing her eyes to try to enhance her vision she noticed it was a pack of envelopes.

"Mail came!" Bible said enthusiastically when they where standing in front of the tank.

June grew silent when Boyd began to hand everyone a couple of envelopes. Like she expected, there was nothing for her. She had gotten used to it by now. She didn't even expect anything anymore. Instead, she remained seated on the tank, trying to silently ignore the fact that the rest where all excitedly reading their letters to each other.

"Hey, June?" Gordo opened his hatch and appeared next to her. "You didn't get any letters?"

She shook her head. "It's okay. I guess my family don't like my career choice."

"Oh," he replied somber.

June extended her arm and patted him softly on his shoulder. "It's fine, really. Don't worry about it."

Collier told them they were spending the night in town. The bridge could wait until the morning as all the officers had agreed that a good night's rest was more important right now. June appreciated their decision. She had seen enough of combat for one day.

This time she couldn't manage to get a bedroom for herself. Besides their platoon, there were a lot of infantry soldiers who had already claimed their property the night before, leaving only the badly damaged houses for them.

"June?" she heard Gordo whisper.

June turned her head. She was lying on the carpet, trying to sleep, but scenes of earlier today kept flashing through her mind.

Gordo was lying next to her. Boyd had managed to claim the couch while Collier and Grady had both fallen asleep in two large armchairs. It was amazing how even the floor slept better than the inside of the tank.

"Yeah?" she whispered back. There was a lot of partying going on outside, but they all had had their share of alcohol the night before. Grady even swore off alcohol for the coming weeks, but June doubted he could stick to that statement. A drink was the only thing that could give them a little fun around here.

"It doesn't matter your family doesn't send you anything," he began. "I guess we are your family now."

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you once again for all your lovely comments, please keep them coming :D I'll try to upload a new chapter this week if I find the time :) Take care!


	6. The Petrified Forest

They had mounted up just as the sun began to rise. June was still seated on top of the tank, watching the red rays of sunlight peaking over the hills in the far distance. It was still a bit chilly which she was enjoying a lot more than the heat that would be cooking them inside the tank at midday.

She had to pull her gaze from the sunrise when she suddenly noticed Collier launching himself forward. She widened her eyes as she followed him closely. They had been transporting a German prisoner-of-war right between the convoy of tanks. When she saw he had his hand curled up in a fist she jumped off the tank and started to run towards him.

"What are you doing?!" June exclaimed. She tried to pull Collier back, but he was much taller and much stronger than she was.

"Fucking SS," Wardaddy muttered.

The soldiers transporting the nazi were trying to shield the him, but in all his rage Collier proved to be invincible. Nothing seemed to be able to stop him.

"Don," she said helplessly. "Stop, please."

But he didn't stop. It wasn't until Grady and Bible had heard the commotion outside they came to help. The two of them managed to lock Collier down in their grip. Bible whispered something to him which seemed to calm him down.

"Fucking idiot!" the soldier transporting the prisoner-of-war exclaimed, but before he was able to continue their path June turned herself to them.

"What the fuck were you thinking!" she breathed. "Transporting a prisoner through here?! You should have fucking known better."

She was met with angry glances, but she ignored those. She had never seen anyone react so strongly to a SS soldier. Collier had practically launched himself on top of the soldier, almost killing him in the process. Hell, he was probably wishing right now he had killed him.

June turned around again. Bible had Wardaddy under his arm as he took him back to the tank. He was running his fingers through his hair, breathing heavily.

"What was that?" June asked Grady.

"He get's like that sometimes," he responded before taking off himself.

June remained behind, needing a moment to process what she had seen. The Wardaddy she knew before today always composed himself. He almost seemed to be _comfortable_ in a war. The Wardaddy she had seen today was the complete opposite. It was a lesson to her. A lesson that anyone can break at any moment.

When she climbed inside the tank everything had gone back to normal. It seemed as if the rest had dealt with Collier's outbreak so many times before it was not even a big deal anymore. She was silent as they took off, still unsure how to respond to what happened.

For an outsider is must have been impressive to see the large convoy of tanks and infantry men walking down the dirt road to their objective. The tanks were in the front, Murder Inc. taking the lead. Behind them were all the foot soldiers, laughing amongst each other, singing songs.

June had been ordered to keep an eye out for the bridge. She had her head popped out of the hatch, binoculars in front of her eyes as she tried to spot anything in the distance.

Just like the soldiers, the boys in the tank were happily chatting away as well. June could not quite get the incident which happened earlier out of her head, so instead she kept her mouth shut while she peered through her binoculars, replaying the incident over and over in her mind.

"I've spotted something," she suddenly said when she noticed a stone structure about half a mile out.

"How many are there?" Wardaddy replied, referring to the Germans.

June looked again. "Zero. There is no one."

"Give me those binoculars," he ordered.

She leaned backward to hand Collier the binoculars before focussing her eyes on the bridge again. It was more difficult to see from that distance, but the bridge appeared to be abandoned.

Her earpiece started to make funny noises. "This is Wardaddy. We've spotted the bridge but it appears to be deserted."

"Park up here, boys. Let them take a look at it. Why the fuck would the Germans just leave it behind?" Sgt. Binkowski spoke.

"Gordo stop," Collier said.

The convoy came to a halt. A platoon of foot soldiers proceeded forwards, heading to the bridge to check it out. Minutes passed before they came back, confirming what June had seen. It appeared to be abandoned.

"I thought they said we had to retake it?" June asked, looking over her shoulder to Bible.

He shook his head. "I guess they already left."

The convoy started rolling again. The bridge grew bigger and bigger with every minute. June kept her eyes open. This was too easy. Nothing ever went this easy.

"What are you doing?" Gordo asked her when she climbed back in the tank, closing her hatch. She had a bad feelings about this one.

"I'm not planning to get shot for a third time," she replied.

It was as if her words had triggered the attack. As soon as her hatch had slammed shut, bullets started flying. A mortar went just past them and landed a few yards to the left.

"Shit, shit, shit," she heard someone say over the comm, but she couldn't make out who it was as the microphone was also picking up the noise from outside.

"Bible, Grady! Get ready to fire!" Wardaddy said. He had closed his hatch as well.

Bible and Grady immediately went on with their job. June grabbed her machine gun and started to shoot.

In the meantime Gordo had come down as well, turning the tank to the direction where someone was firing mortars.

"How many times are they going to keep surprising us?" he complained.

June wondered that as well. During her training she was taught that the United States had the finest military force in the world, yet she found that the Germans were arguably as good as they were.

By the time the fighting seemed to have stopped June was exhausted. Physically and mentally. These two days had been one of the heavier days and she was struggling to process everything she had seen. The only thing she wanted to do was sleep. Sleep and hope the war had ended by the time she woke up.

"I think that was it," Collier said carefully. He opened his hatch, slowly rising to look outside. June held her breath for a moment. It could be that they missed a sniper who could shoot down Collier at any moment, but nothing happened.

She looked through her own optics again. The soldiers all crawled out into the open, helping the wounded while some went off to retrieve some souvenirs from dead Germans to take home. German guns were especially popular.

June leaned back in her chair, panting slightly.

"You okay?" Bible asked, placing his hand on her shoulder.

She had to do her best not to cry. She had to be strong. She could not be weak. Slowly she began to nod. "Yeah. I will be."

"If you wanna talk, I'm here, okay?"

"I'll remember that," June replied, touched by his comment.

When she turned out to give him a thankful smile her eyes met with Collier's who was seated behind Bible. For a moment her gaze lingered on his, as she failed to pull away. His expression was blank again. She had never met a man before harder to read than he was. The clear anger he had expressed earlier with the nazi had disappeared like snow in the sun.

Finally she managed to pull away. June announced she was heading outside for some fresh air and climbed out of her hatch, taking her M1 with her. She slid off the tank and began to head for the tree line at the opposite side of the bridge which had been slightly damaged during the attack.

"June?!" Gordo shouted after her. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to fucking pee if that's alright with you," she snapped back. "Do you wanna come with and hold my hand or something?"

She kept her eyes focussed on the tree line ahead, ignoring all the bodies she had to pass on her way. Even after so many times the stench of the dead still managed to surprise her and make her sick at the same time.

The closer she got to the trees the more she started to hurry. To be safe she kept her M1 aimed before her, ready to shoot if necessary.

Tears were rolling down her cheeks. When she was out of sight she fell down on her knees. June knew herself and she knew she needed this. She needed to let out her frustrations, her fear. She needed to empty her mind.

She didn't want to do this in front of the boys. She did not want them to think she was struggling with this. She wanted them to think she was invincible, that nothing could hurt her. She wanted to radiate that same calmness Wardaddy radiated. Being a woman was already a big enough of a burden, imagine what being labeled as weak would do.

With the back of her hand she wiped the tears away. She managed to get her breathing under control again. She knew she couldn't stay out here for too long before they would start to suspect something. The only upside about being a woman was that the boys would always leave her alone whenever she announced she had to go and pee. It was the only time she could break away from the group and have a moment to herself.

June placed her hands in front of her so she could push herself upwards again. She grabbed her M1 from the ground, ready to head back. But she had been so lost in her thoughts that she had completely failed to see a platoon of nazis had gathered in front of her.

"Drop Ihre Waffen," the sergeant spoke hurriedly, aiming his own weapon on her.

"Wh… What?" she stumbled, her gun still aimed at the platoon. She did a quick headcount, coming to the conclusion there was no way she could take on eight men on her own.

"Drop Ihre Waffen! Jetzt!"

* * *

**A/N:** Oh I love cliffhangers, lol. As promised, a new chapter! I also quickly want to respond to the question of whether Norman will be part of my story but I actually think I'm gonna leave him out. There is no room in the tank for him anyway haha. Thank you again for reading and please leave a review! :D


	7. Under Two Flags

Her arms were tightly squeezed together behind her back. She had surrendered. She had no other choice. Taking them on all by herself would have resulted in her death. She had come too far in this war to die like that.

The soldier holding her roughly shoved his hand in her back, pushing her forward. They were heading in the direction of the town. It was only now June realized how far she had gone into the forest. How stupid had she been?

"Where are we going?" June tried, but none of them replied to her question. They muttered amongst each other in German she could not understand.

Her wrists were beginning to hurt. The cuts on her arm were throbbing as well.

"Where are we going?" she tried again, but no luck.

She began to look ahead and she could already spot the buildings of the town in the distance. What were they going to do with her? Why were they taking her back to where she had come from?

The soft mud changed into a paved road and soon she found herself being pushed towards the town. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Her head was spinning in confusion. What the fuck were they doing?

"STAND BACK!"

An American had spotted them. It was a miracle how they had come so far without being noticed.

She began to nervously look around her for her own tank. She then located it on her right side. It was hidden behind another tank but she saw Gordo sitting on top.

"GORDO!" she shouted as loud as she could, trying to get his attention. Her action was punished by a slap across her face.

"Halte den Mund," the soldier spat in her face.

"STAND THE FUCK BACK," the soldier shouted again and it didn't take long before everyone's attention was turned towards them.

The Nazi's didn't put their weapons down. Instead they kept them aimed at the Americans in defense.

"Wo ist den Hauptsturmführer?" the Nazi demanded.

"I have no fucking idea what he is saying," the infantry soldier spoke to another.

"Is that a woman?" the other said when he noticed June. "Is she one of us?"

"She is wearing an American uniform?"

"I'm one of you god dammit," June spoke annoyed. "Get Sgt. Collier, he can speak German."

"Halte den Mund!" the nazi spoke, shoving her roughly back and forwards again. Didn't they know June was only trying to resolve this incident as quickly as possible?

A private quickly went out to fetch Collier. The minutes it took to fetch him felt like hours. The hands of the German were still squeezing her wrists together. June made a mental note never go that far out in the woods all by herself.

June gasped in relief when she saw Collier coming through the crowd of soldiers who all their weapons pointed at the Germans. If this escalated she would be the first to go.

"Lasst sie los," Collier demanded.

"Geben wir zunächst den Hauptsturmführer," the platoon leader said.

Collier looked confused. He began speaking again. "Wer? Ich weiß nicht was du redest."

"Sie erfasst den Hauptsturmführer. Wir wollen ihn zurück."

June had no idea what they were saying, making the situation even more stressful than it already was.

Wardaddy turned himself to the same private who had fetched him. Bible, Grady, and Gordo were now also approaching, a look of shock upon their face.

"Did we capture some kind of captain?" he demanded. "Did we capture any nazi's?"  
"I don't know, sir," the private stumbled.

"Then fucking find out!" Collier shouted. He then turned himself to his own platoon. "Go with him, and bring that Nazi fuck here."

"Don," June breathed. "What is he saying? What captain?"

"I think this is a trade," Collier informed her. "Just keep still and don't do anything."

"Beeilung!" the Nazi spoke.

"Wir tun unser Bestes," Collier replied calmly. He had his hands up in the air, trying not to look like a threat to them.

The view from where she was standing was incredible. June's eyes scanned all the soldiers with their guns pointed at her. She even spotted snipers in the windows. One wrong move and they would all pull the trigger.

"Sie haben eine schöne Frau. Ist sie gut im Bett?"

The platoon leader suddenly moved uncomfortably close to her. He grabbed her chin between two fingers, forcing her to look at him. She saw something in his eyes she had feared so much. It was lust.

"Holen Sie sich Ihre Hände von Ihr," Collier spoke aggressively.

June breathed heavily. If only they would hurry up with that damn captain.

"Wenn Sie sich nicht beeilen, ich könnte nicht in der Lage, mich zu beherrschen sein."

June saw the shape on his mouth transform into a mischievous grin. He ran his finger slowly across her cheek. Please don't, she thought.

"Sie sind wirklich schön," he grinned

She closed her eyes in aversion and turned her face away from him.

"You fucking piece of shit," she heard Wardaddy mutter.

June opened her eyes again. He was moving forward at a fast pace but he was kept back by the guns of the nazi's.

"Ich würde das nicht tun," the leader said. He got his side arm of his holster and pressed it against June's neck. "Wenn Sie näher zu kommne, stirbt sie."

"What is he saying," June asked again, slightly panicking because of the gun pressed against her neck. The barrel felt surprisingly cold.

"Nothing," Collier replied. "You're doing good, just stay calm."

She knew he was lying to her but she couldn't prove it because she spoke no German at all. She just had to trust him she was not about to die at any second.

Gordo broke through the crowd. "We got him."

Bible and Grady followed with the captain. Their own commanding officer followed as well.

"What is the meaning of this?" Cpt. Waggoner spoke.

"They want to trade," Collier explained.

Waggoner's eyes moved from June to the SS captain, slowly examining the situation.

"Make the exchange!"

A sergeant she didn't recognize stepped forward. "Sir? Should we?" he began carefully. "You are trading a private against a captain."

Waggoner turned around. "I'm not going get one of my soldiers killed. The guy is not gonna talk anyway. This war isn't over yet. Time enough to kill them out there in the field."

The sergeant was silenced. June looked at Wardaddy, her gaze fixed on his. He gave her a reassuring nod, letting her know it would all be over soon.

June could kick herself for allowing to be so careless. She shouldn't have gone out that far in the forest. She let the situation get the better of her. This could never happen again.

"Do it," Waggoner ordered.

Collier grabbed the captain roughly by his shoulder. "Zur gleichen Zeit, okay?"

The soldier holding her began to step forward as well. Slowly they began to move closer to each other. June's eyes never left Collier's. Just a few more feet and she was in safety. When she felt the grip of her captor loosening she immediately rushed to Collier, standing behind him.

Wardaddy pushed the captain towards his own men. "Raus," he snarled. "Jetzt!"

That was when the rest of them opened fire. June immediately dropped to the ground, hoping the bullets would go over her. She felt the weight of Collier on her own body. He was laying on top of her, his body protecting hers.

June pressed her hands to her ears. The sound was deafening. Both of them were unarmed and useless. They could only lay still and hope for the best.

"I'm sorry!" June shouted.

"Sorry for what?" Wardaddy replied.

"I fucked up. I didn't hear them. I didn't pay attention."

"We didn't pay any attention either. You did not fuck up."

June pressed her cheek in the soft mud when a tracer flew right past her ear. She couldn't help but feeling horrible. This was all because of her. Anyone who would get killed would be because of her. If she hadn't been that careless, this would not have happened.

When the shooting stopped, she dared to turn her head towards the Germans. They were all dead. Their bodies laying motionless in the dirt, their hands still gripping their guns tightly.

Wardaddy looked as well. It took him a moment to realize everything was safe, and he pushed himself off of her.

"It's alright," he nodded slowly but reassuring, offering her a hand.

June looked around her. Everything had grown quiet again. All eyes were on her, closely monitoring her every move.

"Come on," he tried again.

She looked up to him, extending her own arm to accept his hand. With ease he pulled her up, wiping the mud from her cheek with the back of his sleeve.

"Let's get you inside, okay?'

June nodded.

"Did I kill anybody?" she asked carefully as he took her under his arm and walked her through the platoons of soldiers. Bible smiled softly as she passed him.

"No," Collier replied firmly. "I don't know what the Germans were doing. We outmanned them. It was almost as if it was their plan for the captain to get caught."

A sergeant appeared next to Collier but before he could open his mouth Wardaddy already shut him up. "Not now. Fucking hell. I'll find you later."

There was something about Wardaddy that was so intimidating. He radiated authority. Everyone looked up to him. Everyone obeyed him. Everyone admired him, including June.

He brought her inside of a house, placing her on the couch in the living room. He kneeled before her, his gaze piercing through hers.

"Did they hurt you?" he asked.

June shook her head. "No."

She could feel the tears in her eyes again. She had promised herself not to let herself be so vulnerable, especially in front of the men. But it seemed as if the war was beginning to take her toll on her. How could one stay sane among the chaos and death that called itself Germany?

"We're gonna spend the night here. Make sure the Germans are gone. Make sure you are okay."

She nodded. "Can I have the bed tonight?"

A soft smile appeared on Collier lips. "Yes you can."

The front door opened. June heard footsteps shuffling through the hallway, slowing getting louder as they approached the living room. Bible, Gordo, and Grady appeared in the doorway, their helmets under their arms.

"Captain thinks they didn't know there were so many of us left," Gordo began. "They thought we were heading out. Guess they were wrong."

"What about casualties?" June asked. "On our side?"

"Just a few got shot," Bible replied. "Not sure about the exact numbers."

"See?" Wardaddy spoke, softly gripping her knee to get her attention. "You did not kill anybody. They were just waiting for someone to grab."

June nodded. She had to believe him. She had to trust him.

"Come on," he continued. "Let's get you upstairs, okay?"

They were in a different house than the night before. Empty bottles and cigarette butts were scattered everywhere, a reminder of the partying that had went on the night before.

"You'll be fine by yourself?" Wardaddy asked.

"Yeah," she replied, looking down at her sleeves at all the mud stains. This was gonna take a while to get out.

"I'll be downstairs if you need me. I'll let Bible prepare you some food."

"That would be amazing," June said with a soft smile before disappearing in the bathroom.

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**A/N:** Before I start, yes I purposely did not translate the German bit. This story is told from June's pov and she can't understand it either. (Also I hope I didn't make too many mistakes because I used google translate oops) So. I hope you all liked this chapter and just a hint for the next chapter, you're all gonna like it ;) Please review and until next time :D


	8. Give Me Your Heart

With her wet hair dangling down her back, June left the bathroom. The water had been cold and it had not been cleaned since the war had begun, but she felt a little better now she her body was free of the dirt and dried blood. When putting on her jacket her hand accidentally slipped through one of the bullet holes in the sleeve, creating a bigger hole. She had cursed and reminded herself to get it fixed.

Her eyes fell on a plate of hot food. Bible was seated at the table, his feet resting on another chair while he was lost in his book.

"Is this for me?" June asked carefully, trying not to make him jump.

Bible immediately looked up. "Oh, yeah! It's for you." He gave a smile before pushing the plate towards her.

June sat down, realizing how hungry she was and eagerly began to dig in her two eggs.

"Did you eat already?" she asked. The eggs tasted so good. It was amazing how incredible food could taste in such bleak times, even something as simple as eggs tasted like it was made by a chef from a fancy Manhattan restaurant.

"Yeah, we ate while you were in the shower," Bible replied. He placed the book in front of him on the table. "How are you doing?"

"A lot better," June admitted. She had already finished her first fried egg. "It just became too much for a moment. It happens."

"Yeah," Bible nodded. "We all get it sometimes. This fucking war."

"This fucking war," June agreed.

"I got you a new weapon by the way," he said. He reached behind him and placed a new gun in front of her.

"Oh shit," June said. "I totally forgot I left it behind."

"It's okay," Bible smiled. "It's not the same as you got before, but it works."

June reluctantly put her fork down to take the gun into her own hands. It was lighter than the one she had before. "It folds?" she asked with raised eyebrows, folding the buttstock. So that was why it was so light.

"It's a paratrooper's model," Bible admitted. "It was the only one I could get at such short notice."

June chuckled. "It's different. I'll get used to it."

She finished her dinner in the company of Bible. It was good to be laughing again. It was as if everything had gone back to normal. Tomorrow she would wake up and the memory of this day would just cease to exist. She wasn't going to let this set her back. She was here to win this war and that was what she was going to do.

"Hey, Boyd?" she suddenly remembered. They had been drinking tea while watching the sun set from the window. "You wanted to practice your stitching, right?"

Bible nodded.

"You can start with this."

June took off her jacket, showing him the ripped up sleeves. Getting a new jacket would mean taking it off a dead body. She'd rather have her own fixed.

Bible took the jacket into his own hands, studying the cuts. "You're gonna regret not letting me stitch you up after you see my amazing handwork."

She laughed. "I have no doubt in your abilities. Wardaddy on the other hand…"

Boyd laughed as well.

He fetched a tiny sewing kit from the back of his pants. June watched his hands gently repairing the cuts, the gap closing with every stitch.

"So," Bible began after a silence. "What did you do before the war?"

She raised her eyes from his fingers to meet his gaze. "What did I do? Like a job?"

Bible nodded. "Yeah. Like were you a hairdresser? Nurse?"

"I did nothing," June said quietly, realizing how stupid it sounded. "I'm a woman I have no need for a job."

"What do you mean? I know lots of women with a job."

"Let's just say," she continued. "that where I come from, a job is not the most important thing on a woman's mind. Finding a rich husband is."

"And did you find him?" Bible asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Do you think I'd be here if I had?" she replied. "This is why my family does not send me any letters. I defied their wishes. I doubt they even talk about me."

June did not like to speak about her past. The moment she set foot in Europe, she promised herself not to think about it, but she was lying if she denied she missed her family. She missed her mother, her father, her little brother. She sacrificed everything for them and she got nothing in return. One might see her deeds as heroic, her family saw it as treason. She was the shame of the family.

Bible's hands swiftly finished his work. Within minutes he held up her jacket, showing her the sleeve. "Look!" he said proudly.

"Thank you," June said gratefully, taking the sleeve in her own hands. "Show this to Wardaddy next time he doubts your abilities."

"Damn right I will," Boyd laughed.

She heard someone clear his throat behind her. June turned her torso, finding Collier standing behind them. He had a habit of appearing without making any noise.

"I would like to speak with June," he spoke, looking at Bible.

He took the hint quickly enough, nodding his head slightly as he vacated the room.

It had grown dark outside. She had no idea what time it was, but her body suddenly felt tired. Hell, she had never been fully awake.

She raised from her chair, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she moved closer to Collier. The only light in the room came from a lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, casting dark shades over his face.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her.  
"Better," June replied honestly. "A lot better. It was just… one of those moments, you know?"

Wardaddy nodded. "Yeah," he replied softly.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked. She hadn't stopped thinking about him and the nazi. His reaction. His aggression towards the man. She had never seen him like that before.

He nodded again.

"What happened earlier? With the nazi?"

"Nothing to worry about," Wardaddy replied calmly.

"Are you sure?" she continued. "Didn't look like nothing."

"Just make sure you kill all of them. Especially SS. Promise me."

"I promise," June said, slightly confused by his reaction but she figured it was all she was gonna get.

She shuffled closer to him, reaching out her hand. She had to stand on her tiptoes because he towered over her. Her fingers traced the faint scars on his cheek. There were so many of them. Each and every one a reminder of the brutalities of war.

He didn't seem to flinch at her careful touch, which encouraged her to keep her finger on his cheek.

"Were you in the war before this one?" she asked, scanning his face. "The Great War?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Was it worse than this one?"

Collier remained silent for a moment, before replying: "They are both bad in their own right."

His gaze rested on hers. Her fingers had stopped tracing his scars. In the darkness he was so hauntingly beautiful. Her hand remained on his cheek. June found her head moving closer to his. She stopped when her lips were almost touching his. She could feel his breath on her skin. She could smell his strangely familiar scent. She could feel the tension growing between their bodies.

"I have a wife," Wardaddy whispered.

"We could die tomorrow," June also spoke softly. "I do not want to die regretting not doing this."

She just moved that tiny bit closer and let her lips softly brush against his, awaiting his reaction.

There had always been a connection between the two, from the moment they had met. Don had given her something no one else had given her before. He had given her a chance. He had welcomed her. He had trusted her.

She moved her head back, breathing carefully. Her eyes were closed, her hand still cupping his cheek. For a moment she thought that would be the end of it. But Wardaddy leaned in, having to reach down for the much smaller June.

His lips found hers and his hands slid on the small of her back, pulling her closer to her body. June placed her other hand in his neck, letting his mouth guide her. She felt a sense of desire grow in the pit of her stomach. It had been years since she had been kissed like this.

June felt his hand running through her still wet hair, gripping it softly near the back of her neck. It was amazing how tender he was for a man of his size.

She parted her mouth, letting his tongue enter. The taste of alcohol and cigarettes filled her like she was reading a diary entry of what he had been doing minutes before he met her upstairs.

He pulled away to breathe, immediately letting his lips crash against hers once he had inhaled the fresh oxygen. June took slow step backwards towards her master bedroom, her hands in his neck pulling him softly with her.

Before letting herself fall on the bed, June took off her tank top, kicked off her shoes as fast as she could, her fingers fumbling with the laces, and slid her pants down. Collier had begun undressing as well. The years of war had been harder on her body than it had been on his. Where June had grown smaller and thinner, Wardaddy was muscular and tall.

Neither of them spoke as she let her eyes wander up and down his impressive body. She had no idea he was hiding that underneath his uniform.

June let herself fall back on the bed, spreading her legs for him. He pressed his body on hers. His skin felt surprisingly warm against hers.

Her fingers gripped his back while he began to plant kisses down her neck. Her eyes opened wide when she felt more scars. Her fingers slid up and down his spine, feeling that the uneven and wrinkly skin covered his entire back.

"What happened?" she whispered. "With your back?"

"I'll tell you later," Wardaddy grumbled.

She arched her neck to the left. He continued kissing the curve of it.

"Promise?" she asked, intrigued.

"Yes," he said moving his head upwards again, his eyes focussed on her. "I promise."

His hands reached behind her own back. Swiftly he had undone her bra, letting it fall of the bed before letting his lips brush softly against her breasts.

A moan escaped her mouth. She did not want to think about the consequences this would have. June fully realized Wardaddy was her superior, but she couldn't stop herself and neither could he.

He tickled her when his fingers slipped under her underwear, pushing it downwards. Before he could go further, June patted him on his back to get his attention, opening her mouth to speak.

"Don?" she asked quietly, waiting for his eyes to find hers.

Wardaddy nodded.

"Be gentle, okay? It's been a while."

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**A/N:** Well, it's safe to say I am _very_ curious to your reactions. I didn't want to give you guys everything because I want to keep this story rated T (and because I get so awkward when writing sex scenes I just can't). I read your comments about a potential love triangle with Bible/June/Wardaddy and I do like the sound of that. About Norman, however, I just don't know how to cooperate him in the story? I want to, because I like his character, but there is no room on the tank? I do not want to kill somebody just so Norman can enter the story. If you have any ideas about him, please let me know. Oh, I also already have a final scene in mind and I can't wait to work towards that moment. I'll see you guys next time and please leave a review!


	9. Stowaway

She slowly awoke the next morning, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she turned around to find Wardaddy had disappeared. It was still dark outside, indicating it was still very early. Everything was silent, as if the entire war was still asleep, waiting to be woken up by the sound of gun shots.

June pushed herself upwards, throwing the blankets that had been covering her body off her before quickly slipping in her tank top and underwear.

Trying not to wake anyway, she opened the door as quietly as the could, but it still ended up creaking as she pushed it open. There was no one seated at the table so she continued her way downstairs.

When she tiptoed in the living room she found Grady sleeping in an arm chair and Collier on the couch. She released her breath. For a moment she thought he'd left her behind. He had relocated downstairs, probably not wanting the men to know they had slept together. June wondered if the rest had heard them or if they had been too preoccupied with their own affairs to notice.

She went upstairs again, jumping in bed. If she was lucky she could still catch a few more hours of sleep, but her mind constantly went back to the night before. Her and Collier. It had truly happened. She wondered if anything was going to change. Maybe he would just acknowledge it had been a moment of weakness and it was never going to happen again. Either way, June did not regret kissing him. She did not regret making love to him.

"June?" Gordo knocked on the door, waiting for her to answer before opening. "Pack up your stuff, we're heading out in fifteen minutes."

How long had she been sleeping? The sun was streaming through the blinds. The silence of the night was gone and the cursing of soldiers echoed through the room.

She quickly ran her fingers through her hair before putting on her uniform, grabbing her new gun from the kitchen table and make sure she left nothing behind. It would not have been the first time she left something as simple like a pair of scissors behind.

All the hatches in the tank were open. She climbed in through her own, seating herself next to Gordo.

"Any word on were we are going?" she asked him, stowing her stuff away right next to her.

"Nope," Gordo replied. "We're gonna give the foot soldiers an escort to the next town but it isn't that far away so no idea where we are heading next."

"You had a good night's rest, June?" Bible asked her. He was always seated behind her.

She didn't turn her head. He would know by watching her expression something was up. Truth was she had slept great. Amazing, even. All thanks to Wardaddy.

"Yeah, not too bad," she replied, keeping her eyes fixed at the metal interior of the tank. All the guys had pictures of their families or hot girls stuck on the walls. Not June. She had no one.

It didn't take long before they had all gathered in the tank and were heading out of town. June hadn't yet spoken with Wardaddy. His eyes had briefly met hers before turning away. She could only hope it would not stay this awkward for the rest of the war.

They were not met with any enemy fire like last time. They practically sailed through the open field without a sign of danger. The men were all chatting amongst each other. June liked these days the best. The relaxing kind of days. When the bright sun shined over the amazing German country side with it's fields that were in full bloom, life was not too bad. People in America were never going to see the gorgeousness of this country like she was seeing it right now.

They had dropped off the foot soldiers at an outpost. Now it was just the tanks and the occasional plane that flew by. Their next objective was a few days away so June prepared herself for a long drive.

At the edge of another forest Gordo brought the tank to a halt. It had been awfully quiet in the tank. At first she had found it relaxing, but after a while she began to wonder if everyone was quiet for a reason. To be safe, she kept her mouth shut as well.

"If you need to piss now is your chance," Wardaddy spoke, disappearing after he had spoken.

June looked at the forest and decided she was going to stay back at the tank. She climbed out through her hatch, wiping the sweat off her forehead as she sat on the edge of the tank. Under the shade of the trees the summer was somewhat bearable.

"Where is she?" someone shouted. A soldier made large strides as he glided towards her, followed closely by another. She didn't recognize him but figured he'd be part of the tanks that were part of their convoy.

"You June Nichols?" he demanded when he stood before her.

June narrowed her eyes together, clenching her jaw. What was the meaning of this?

"Your little trip out there into the woods yesterday got one of us killed. You realize that?"

She held her breath. It felt like her heart had stopped beating. So she did get someone killed.

"What are you doing in this war anyway?" he continued. The one who had been following closely began to tug at his sleeve, trying to pull him away from her.

June was glued to the tank. She couldn't move. She managed to get out a very quiet apology which was neither heard nor appreciated by the soldier in front of me.

"Go home. You don't belong here. You got someone killed you fucking bitch!"

"Get the fuck out of here, man," Bible said, suddenly appearing next to the tank, returning from his piss break. "She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"She shouldn't be here in the first place," the soldier tried again.

His fellow soldier managed to pull him away. She stared at the ground in both shame and guilt. Getting someone killed was never her intention. Her weakness had killed someone.

"You okay?" Bible said, when he turned to her.

June shrugged. "He was right. It was my fault."

Before he could reply she lowered herself through her hatch again, shielding herself from the outside world, hoping no one would notice her. The reputation she had build up had completely been torn to the ground in mere seconds.

They continued their journey in another silence. June's mind kept returning to yesterday's event. The day had ended so well with her and Wardaddy, but back then she did not know the consequences of her actions.

"It could've happened to anyone," one might say, but it had happened to her. She had to face the repercussions. Her carelessness got her into this position.

"Is no one gonna say anything?" Bible said after miles had passed. The tank was full of cigarette smoke and the stuffy weather made everything worse. June could open her hatch to let in some fresh air but she couldn't find the willpower to get up and face the world.

"Gordo?" he tried.

"I guess we're just all a little sad about Johnson, you know."

June looked up. Was that the guy she killed? Oh god, they knew him?

"It wasn't her fault," Boyd said.

"But he is dead," Grady began. "And we can't bring him back."

She wanted to scream. They were talking about her like she was not even there. But she was hearing everything. And she would remember everything.

"I'm sorry, okay," she spoke. "I didn't mean to get anyone killed."

"If you just didn't venture in the woods all by yourself, none of this had happened," Gordo replied.

"It was a mistake, it won't happen again," June said. "What more do you want me to say?"

"Nothing," Gordo shrugged.

She averted her eyes, trying to hold back the tears. She was back at square one. It had taken her a while to gain everyone's trust but she seemed to had lost it all. Even Bible remained quiet, as if he agreed with Gordo and Grady after reviewing their comments.

And that was not all. Imagine if one of them found out she had sex with Wardaddy. Not only would she be branded as weak but also as a slut.

Wardaddy's silence hurt her maybe the most. He was known to interfere quickly, but right now he had remained absolutely quiet. Did he have nothing to say about the matter? Did last night mean nothing to him?

The night was spent in the tank. Her metal chair was a lot less comfortable than a bed and she terribly missed the privacy a room of her own gave, but right now she was not in the position for any demands. She tried to catch as much sleep as she possibly could, but thoughts clouded her mind and Grady's snoring kept her awake.

The traveling continued. With every mile they were deeper into enemy territory. June hoped they would come around, but the ignoring continued. Bible occasionally gave her a soft smile, but she received nothing more than that. Did she had to prove herself all over again?

They had taken a break near the edge of a destroyed village. The plan was to spend the night there, but none of them had realized the village had been transformed into a gigantic pile of rubble so she was doomed to another night inside the tank.

Gordo and Grady were both rummaging through everything they could find, hoping to stumble across some kind of treasure that had miraculously survived the war. She tried to look for Bible, he seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Wanting to stretch her legs, June decided to take a tour through the village that once was. Her gun dangled from her shoulder as she balanced herself as she made her way over the rubble. It struck her how she had not come across even one dead body. It seemed as if everyone got out in time which somehow soothed her. Too much innocent people had died already, it was refreshing to see some had been able to safe themselves.

Her eyes fell on a tall figure quietly looking out over the fields that surrounded the town. June carefully edged closer, not taking her eyes off Wardaddy, wondering what he was thinking about, what he was looking for.

He turned his head towards her when he heard someone approaching. June smiled softly, but she was not greeted with the same kindness. She took in a deep breath, trying to not let it affect her. She was stronger than this.

"You never told me about your scars," she reminded him, cutting straight to the chase.

"I'll tell you another time," Collier said, spinning on his heel to head back to the tank.

June quickly grabbed his sleeve. "You promised to tell me," she demanded.

His eyes pierced through hers and she felt butterflies in her stomach fluttering. It was amazing how he could be so intriguing and intimidating at the same time. He was unlike any man she had ever met.

"I was captured," he spoke, never taking his eyes off hers. June didn't dare to look away. "In the war before this one. They were ordered to get me to talk. I think you can fill in the rest."

June nodded slowly, graphic images flowing in her mind, wishing she had never asked. Her mother had always told her she was too nosy for her own good.

"Are we ever going to talk about that night?" she tried carefully, making use of the fact she had finally managed to grab his attention again.

Wardaddy was about to walk away when he turned himself to him again, his face stern and his fists clenched.

"I'll tell you one thing about it," he said, moving closer to her again, holding her chin between his two fingers. "It will never happen again."

* * *

**A/N: **I love how half of you were so happy about what happened with Wardaddy and the other half was like NOOOOOOOO. I would like to know what you thought after this chapter ;) I also noticed a lot of my reviewers are actually guests. Why not create an account so you'll get an e-mail everytime I upload a knew chapter? Also I apologize for the longer wait. I had to work a lot over the past week. Hopefully I'll get the next chapter out sooner! Once again, thank you so much for reading and take care!


	10. After The Thin Man

A week had passed. Bible was busy handing out the post among the tanks, making sure he had forgotten no one. Like usual, June did not receive anything. While the men were busy reciting their letters to each other, she laid back on top of the tank, enjoying the sun rays that hit her face, slowly warming her up, wondering what her brother was doing at that moment back at home. Did he ever think of her? Would he ever thank her for her sacrifice?

The guys had grown more friendly to her again, but it was nowhere where it once was. June tried to stop caring about it, reminding her she was just here to serve her country and she was not here to make friends. Yet she could no deny that having a couple of friends made this whole war a lot easier.

She was jealous of the bond the guys shared with each other. They had been together since Africa. She had been with them for just a short while. Would she ever be a part of them? Or did the fact that she was a woman restrict her from that privilege?

"June."

Someone was tugging at her boot. Slowly she opened her eyes, the sun partly blinding her. She raised her head to see what was happening.

"We're heading out," Gordo said, disappearing behind the tank before she could reply.

By the position of the sun June judged she must have dosed off. With her fingers she rubbed the sleep from her eyes before sliding off the tank to stretch her legs for a bit before she had to sit for another while again.

A bullet whizzed past her ear. Before she could respond she heard another one.

June ducked down. A loud cry came from her left and her eyes quickly fell on Gordo, grabbing his leg tightly.

Her eyes widened as she acted as fast as she could. She kneeled beside him. A stain of blood was already forming in the fabric where the bullet had hit him. Her fingers gripped his leg tightly, trying to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Medic!" she called out in despair.

The bullet had gone into his thigh but she couldn't see if it had hit the main artery. Her eyes remained still on the wound, but the bloody mess restricted her from seeing what the damage was.

"Where the fuck did that come from?" Gordo asked, tightening his face in pain.

She shook her head. "No idea. Keep still, okay?"

Around them people had started moving. They started to fire back in the direction where the bullets had come from, but June's guess was that it was from a sniper. They could shoot all they want but they were never going to get a sniper, not unless they knew the location.

"Medic!" she called out again.

Her eyes shifted from the blood pouring through his pants to his eyes.

"Stay with me, Gordo," she demanded after she thought she saw his eyes rolling back. "Stay with me! MEDIC!"

A second pair of hands arrived. Wardaddy kneeled down next to her, also adding pressure to the wound. June seized the opportunity to quickly wipe loose strands of hair out of her face, accidentally smearing some blood across her cheek. She would clean up later.

"I think it's a sniper," she told Wardaddy.

He nodded while ripping open a pack of sulphur to spread across the wound.

"Where the fuck is Bible," she muttered softly.

She let Collier apply pressure while she released her grip to move to his head, taking it in her lap.

"You're doing good, Gordo," she told him.

He coughed loudly. June was expecting the worst but luckily he did not cough up any blood. The pain was taking a toll on his body. He seemed much more lifeless than a few minutes earlier. His eyes were not as bright as they usually were. His breathing became more sporadic.

"Just stay with me, okay?"

She turned to Collier, lowering her voice as she spoke so Gordo couldn't hear.

"If Bible's not here soon he'll die…"

Wardaddy shook his head. "He's not gonna die. I promised he'll make it through this war. I can't let him die."

June could only hope he knew what he was saying. Promises like that were very hard to keep in moments like this.

"I'm here. I'm here!" Bible breathed. He slid down through the mud to position himself next to Gordo.

She still held his head into her lap. Boyd ripped up Gordo's pants before taking a better look at the wound. June kept her eyes fixed on Gordo, making sure she would not lose him.

Wardaddy said something to Bible but the gunfire around her silenced their voices. She had no idea what was happening on the frontline. Were they actually shooting at anybody? Would there be an entire company of Germans waiting for them behind that embankment?

It felt like hours had passed when they finally managed to get Gordo to a camp they had passed a few miles back. In reality it had been much shorter. Both her and Wardaddy had accompanied Boyd and Gordo to the camp to make sure he would live to see another day.

Bible judged he would not be able to fix the wound on his own since he too feared the bullet had hit the main artery. But they were very lucky there was a surgeon stationed at the camp.

"Someone needs to let Grady know what is going on," Bible said after a long silence.

They were waiting outside of the tent where the surgeon was working on Gordo. June was seated on a crate that had been turned upside down. Her head was buried in her hands as she tried to stop the thoughts from clouding her mind. Even though the guys had been rough on her, she could not help but worry for Gordo. The Fury team would not be the same without him.

Wardaddy put out his cigarette with his boot. "You can go back, let him know. We'll stay here."

She had to admit she was surprised he did not order her to get back, but she appreciated it nevertheless. Staying away from the fighting was something she would not say no to.

Bible nodded. "What are we going to do when he has to stay here?"

June looked up. She had not thought about that. They were a man short and the driver was unmissable. Judging by the wound, Gordo would not be able to return for a while.

"We need someone else to drive," she replied, her gaze shifting between him and Wardaddy.

"Or we need a new assistant driver," Collier suggested, his eyes piercing through hers.

She cocked her head. Was she hearing this correctly?

"Are you implying I would become the driver?"

"That is exactly what I'm implying."

"I don't have any experience as the main driver. I've always been an assistant driver," she exclaimed, still not sure whether he was serious or not.

Wardaddy took another cigarette from his package and stuck it between his lips before lighting it.

"Then consider yourself promoted."

He got up and entered the tent where they were working on Gordo, leaving a stunned June behind.

She turned her torso to Bible. "Was he serious?" she asked him with raised eyebrows.

"I guess so," he replied, a faint smile playing on his lips. "You okay with that?"

"No," June scoffed. "You're putting someone with no combat experience behind the wheel of something I have only driven during basic training, which was well over a year ago."

Bible inched forward and placed his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it softly.

"You'll do fine," he spoke reassuringly.

"Just don't ignore me for another week when I accidentally drive over and kill someone," June wanted to say, but she kept her mouth closed.

Boyd disappeared to tell Grady about the news, leaving June behind at the camp. She was still seated on her crate, enjoying the sun while ignoring the comments that were thrown at her head. By now the soldiers remarks didn't even bother her anymore. Over the time she had learned how to deal with them and she just let them go over her head. She knew she was a better person than they were and that was all that mattered.

Some time had passed when Wardaddy threw open the flap of the tent. He stood before her, blocking the sun she had been enjoying from her face, casting a cold shadow on her.

June raised her eyebrows, awaiting the news while pushing her crate to the left so she was back in the sun again.

"He'll make it," Collier spoke. "He's gonna go to another aid station where he'll receive more care."

June smiled softly. "That's great news."

She narrowed her eyes as she looked into his, trying to read what he was thinking about but it was once again impossible. His stern eyes could literally mean anything. Was he happy? Angry? Scared?

"You got to keep your promise," she added, trying to get an answer to her ever burning question.

But his expression did not change at all. Instead he spoke. "Let's go. We need to find you a replacement."

"Oh, good," June said, jumping up from her crate, standing besides him. "For a moment I thought you were putting me up in that driver's seat all by myself."

They started walking.

"I'm not trying to get anyone killed," Wardaddy replied and June was sure she could hear a hint of amusement in his voice.

With Collier by her side, the comments suddenly stopped. His authoritative presence seemed to protect her for the remarks that seemed to had been hitting her just minutes earlier. June was lying if she did not admit she liked the peace and quiet. Never before had she been able to walk across camp in such tranquility.

They entered Cpt. Waggoner's tent. The tent sheltered him from the outside world. The only natural light came from a couple of bullet holes in the canvas. He was studying a map guided by the light of a lantern.

He looked up when Collier cleared his throat. June stood awkwardly next to him, not sure what to do. Waggoner had a much higher rank than she had, was she supposed to salute him? Say nothing?

"Oh, right," Waggoner spoke, nodding his head when he remembered. "You're coming for your replacement?."

"We are," Collier replied, a soft smile playing on his lips.

Waggoner put down his pencil and folded his map, tucking it away in his breast pocket before leading them out of the tent.

"Don't expect too much," he warned. "Finding experienced replacements at this point in the war is hard. Hell, finding replacements at all is fucking hard."

"I appreciate your efforts," Wardaddy replied.

June walked behind them, her eyes focussed ahead. With the arrival of a replacement, she was no longer the new one. All the shit jobs she had to do would go to him. All the snarky remarks would go to him. She was a little ashamed to admit it, but she liked that. Maybe it would make her feel more part of the team, especially after everything that had happened. She wanted nothing more than to belong again.

"Ellison?" Waggoner called out when the came to a halt before a make-shift office.

There were several men seated behind tiny desks which were balancing on the unstable mud of the German countryside. They were typing away on typewriters like June had had at home. Writing letters and reports, these men had nothing to do with the combat side of war.

Her eyes scanned all the soldiers, wondering if one of them would be assigned to Fury. Neither of them looked like they had any fighting experience. Their uniforms were still fresh and clean. Their fingers were not caked with sand and blood. There was no trace of hair on their faces. Was this really all Waggoner could get?

A scrawny boy just a little taller than she was stood up. He saluted them.

"That's me, sir," he spoke nervously. He dropped his hand to his side and immediately clenched his fist.

Both her and Wardaddy were speechless. His nervousness was not a good indication. Combat situations would be much more stressful than this moment could ever be. How was he ever going to manage? How were they going to manage not getting him killed?

For a moment she thought Wardaddy was going to decline. But even he had to realize they had no other options but to take him in. With the proper guidance, he might be of some use. An unexperienced driver was better than no driver at all.

"What's your name boy?" he asked him, taking a step forward to get a good look at him.

June continued to study his features, coming to the conclusion he probably was a few years younger than she was.

"Ellison, sir," he replied with the same nervousness as before. "Norman Ellison."

* * *

**A/N:** Wow! Thank you all for the reviews. I've never had so many in such a short amount of time, please keep them coming! Also, sorry this took a long time. Sadly, university has started again and I have a lot of courses this semester which means a lot of homework :( The upside is that we're seriously going to discuss Fury during one of my courses so I'm very excited about that.

But most importantly: NORMAN. YES! I managed to write him in! I'm not exactly sure where I'm gonna take it from here, but we'll see.

So, please let me know what your thoughts were and until next time. Take care! (Oh, and happy Valentine's Day!)


	11. Shall We Dance

Her foot firmly pressed down the metal pedal. Slowly she breathed in, and slowly she breathed out, keeping her eyes on the road ahead. Her hatch had been closed off since the sniper who had shot down Gordo had not been located. With her hands she worked the gears and the steering which proved to require a lot of skill since she had to do it all at the same time.

June tried her best to remember her basic training, cursing she had not paid more attention to Gordo while he was driving the tank. She did not even have a drivers license for a car, yet here she was, driving a tank behind enemy lines. And still they expected her to keep everyone alive.

But she wasn't the only one that was doomed. Behind her sat Norman, their new recruit. He had admitted he hadn't even been inside of a tank before and upon learning Gordo had been wounded, Grady had not welcomed him very warmly.

"Fuck," she muttered under her breath when the transmission got stuck, but Wardaddy had managed to hear her nevertheless.

"Everything going okay, June?" he said.

She could feel all their eyes staring at her back. She wanted to get back on the assistant driver's seat so badly. This was not what she was trained for. This was going to get them all killed.

"Shut up please," she snapped back. "I'm trying to concentrate."

Grady chuckled softly which made her only more aggravated but she decided to ignore it.

"If you spot anything, Norman," Bible spoke. "Shoot at it. Don't care if it's a bird or a deer, kill it."

"With my machine gun?" he replied, his voice unsteady. He was peering through his optics.

"Yes, with your machine gun," Bible replied. June expected the tone of his voice to be annoyed, but Boyd seemed to be slightly amused by Norman's question.

June was very grateful Collier had put Fury in the midst of the convoy. At least she did not have to lead the other tanks, but she could follow them, making the already stressful journey just a little bit less stressful.

Orders were to get to another town where they where going to rest for the night. The following day would be spend seizing crossroads from the Nazi's. June was already mentally preparing herself for battle, hoping she would get enough practice today to remember everything she had learned back in the United States.

Their piss break could not come soon enough. As soon as they came to a halt after concealing the tanks behind a hedgerow, June threw open her hatch, breathing in the fresh air as she climbed out. She positioned herself on the top of the tank, letting her feet dangle of the side.

From a pocket in her pants she retrieved a pack of cigarettes she had managed to snap up back at camp. She never smoked, yet today she longed for a cigarette. She needed something to take the edge off.

Norman opened his hatch as well and placed himself next to her. June extended her arm to offer him a cigarette, but he declined.

"Norman," Wardaddy said, he stood still before them on the ground, his boots pressed in the mud. "Make sure you eat something."

Norman nodded.

June lit her cigarette and slowly took a drag, letting the smoke fill her lungs. She was lying if she said she liked the taste of it, but right now the smoke kind of felt good. It was just another bad habit she picked up during her time in Europe. If her parents would see her now…

Collier's eyes fell on her. "I need to speak with you."

"Okay," June shrugged.

"Take a walk with me," he added after it became apparent June wasn't moving.

She threw her cigarette in the mud and slid off the tank, landing softly. She was already preparing herself for criticism. Anyone could've seen she was not the most convincing driver.

They started walking towards the back of the convoy. The guys they passed were all laughing and joking with each other and June wished she was laughing along with them. She wished everything could go back to what it was before.

"Before you say anything," June said, speaking up before Wardaddy had the chance. "I know I'm a fucking shitty driver, okay. But _you_ put me in this position. I'd take the assistant driver's seat in a heartbeat if it was possible."

Collier placed his hand on her arm and came to a halt. June's gaze switched from his eyes to his hand on her arm and back. His touch triggered the butterflies in her stomach again. For a moment she saw the man she had been making love with again.

"You did fine," he spoke, releasing his grip from her arm and letting it fall to his side. "You're obviously not as good as Gordo, but I did not expect you to be."

June narrowed her eyes. "Is this a trick?" she questioned, not sure what his intentions are.

"It's not a trick, June."

Those eyes again. Those icy blue eyes. Why was he doing this to her? She longed for him. She lusted for him. She wanted his hands on her body again. His lips against hers.

June shook her head, shaking the thoughts for her head. No. It couldn't happen again. These feelings had to stop.

"You can drive," Collier spoke, his eyes never leaving hers. "Be confident and do not get us killed. You'll do fine."

And somehow she believed him.

They reached their village in the evening. It wasn't much of a village. Only a couple of houses and a postoffice that had been transformed into the headquarters for the officers. While driving, June had kept Wardaddy's words in mind and it had made her more confident. It did, however, not mean she was able to park the tank in one try. She needed several attempts to get it exactly where she wanted it.

While the other platoons set up a perimeter and made sure everything was clear, they had been instructed with clearing the house on the far right of the street.

June grabbed her M1, folding out the end so it was more steady, and climbed out of the tank. When her eyes fell on Norman she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He was struggling with his machine gun, trying to reload.

"Have you ever reloaded it?" she asked with raised eyebrows after watching the ordeal.

"I've never even shot this thing," he admitted annoyed after finally reloading it properly.

"Are you kidding me?" June asked, stunned.

"Only during basic training," he replied.

Grady stood next to her. "What did I just hear?"

June looked up to him and took a step to the right so she stood before him, as if she shielded Norman from Grady.  
"Let it go, Grady," she warned. "This is not the time."

An awkward silence followed. June looked from Grady to Norman. She knew he was pissed off because of Gordo. They had always been as thick as thieves and she figured he saw Norman as a replacement for him. But June knew how hard her first days had been and she could only try to make his first days as easy as possible.

She took a step forward closer to Norman. "Just shoot anything that moves, okay? And don't keep your finger on the trigger unless you are ready to shoot."

He nodded and smiled somewhat gratefully.

Luckily there was no need for them to shoot at all. The village had been deserted as well as the close surroundings. In matter of minutes they had made themselves at home. Their platoon had been assigned to the living room so June quickly seized a couch for herself, figuring she deserved it after driving the tank for the first time.

"Hey, June," Bible called for her.

She turned her head to face him. He jumped up from his arm chair and sat down next to her.

"Let me those stitches," he ordered, waiting for her to take off her jacket before gently taking her arm into his hands.

"You think they're ready to come out?" she asked, looking down at the two cuts that had been stitched up by a medic.

"Think so, yeah," Bible replied, studying the cuts intensively. The flesh around the cuts looked alright. There was no discoloring anymore and it didn't hurt at all when touching it. June wasn't a trained medic but even to her it looked quite good.

"Will it hurt?" she asked to be sure.

"Nah," Bible answered. "By now your body has rejected the stitches so they should be coming right out."

Fifteen minutes later her arm was free. Two narrow lines was the only thing that was left behind. Two narrow scars, almost unnoticeable.

"Thank you," she told Bible gratefully, thanking him for his care and his gentleness. She could hardly imagine Grady doing something like this. His fingers would rip the stitches right out of her arm, damaging the cuts again. She was happy they had someone like Bible on their platoon.

Suddenly music started playing outside. The song that was being played felt very familiar. June turned her head to look out of the window. She perked her ears and closed her eyes. It almost felt like she was right at home, as if the song had transported her instantly back to the United States.

And then she remembered. Dance classes! She had heard this song before at dance classes! June pictured herself in her red sparkly gown she always had to wear. Her heels always hurt her feet but she danced a lot better while wearing them. She also remembered her dance partner and how he was quite handsome. Her mother had always spurred her on to go on a date with him, but that was mostly because he came from a good and wealthy family.

She opened her eyes again and saw that soldiers had gathered out on the street to drink and dance.

"Bible, dance with me," she suddenly spoke, looking at him.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Dance?" he asked her unsure.

"Yeah, come on!" June said while taking his hand and pulling him from the couch. "I used to dance the waltz on this. You know the waltz, right?"

"I do," he replied, his body frozen.

June placed her right hand on his shoulder and her other hand took his into hers. Bible quickly picked up what she was doing and placed his right hand on her waist, letting it rest there lightly.

Slowly they started to move on the rhythm of the music. _One, two, three. One, two, three_, she counted in her head. They got the hang of it in mere seconds and picked up the pace. This was fun. This actually was fun.

"You're pretty good," June laughed, realizing how much she had missed laughing.

"You're not so bad yourself," Bible replied, also smiling.

They moved around the room, careful not to hit Norman who was seated on another couch, watching them with an amused grin on his face.

Her gaze constantly shifted from his dark eyes to her feet, trying to keep up with the tempo of the music. She felt his grip on her waist tightening as they went around faster. Waltzing was never this fun with her old dance partner.

After a few minutes the music slowed down and changed into something else entirely. June and Bible came to a halt, both slightly out of breath. They looked at each other with a big smile on their face.

June let her hand slide of his shoulder before taking a step back. When she turned her head to look at Norman she noticed someone else stood behind him. It was Wardaddy.

For a moment she expected him to be angry, but a soft smile was playing on his lips.

"We should probably try and catch some sleep," Bible spoke softly but loud enough that everyone could hear. He was still looking her in her eyes. "We got a busy day up ahead."

June nodded. "Good idea," she said, although adrenaline was still rushing through her veins and she doubted she would be able to sleep soon. If only the music hadn't changed and she could've danced just a little longer. She didn't want to think about driving in combat tomorrow just yet.

The door of the living room slammed open and Grady stumbled in. In his left hand he carried a bottle of liquor and it was easy to see he was very drunk. His words were slurred and June had no idea what he was going on about.

"If you're not alert tomorrow…," Wardaddy warned him as Grady let himself fall in the arm chair Bible had initially claimed.

"Fucking hell, don't worry," he managed to get out before dropping the bottle out of his hand and quickly falling asleep.

Bible looked at the Persian carpet on the ground, probably wondering how the hell he was going to sleep on that without hurting his back.

June saw him looking and quickly began to speak. She didn't want anyone to sleep on the ground, they all deserved a good night's rest.

"You can sleep on the couch with me, if you want? I mean it's wide enough for both of us."

She looked at the leather couch. They would easily fit on there. Even it if it was a bit tight, it would still be a lot comfortable than sleeping on the hard and cold ground.

"You don't mind?" he asked her carefully, his eyes scanning the couch.

"Not at all!" June spoke. She grabbed a blanket and handed it to him before taking her own and lying down, positioning her pillow so she was comfortable. When she saw Bible wasn't moving she patted on the leather besides her, motioning him to come.

Her eyes quickly met with Wardaddy, who positioned himself on the second couch on the other side of the room. Norman had taken the other arm chair. Where he would usually hold her gaze for a few seconds, he now quickly looked away and positioned himself in such a way she couldn't see his face.

She ruffled her brows but she followed his lead, turning her back towards the room. Bible placed himself next to her, careful not to touch her body. June smiled softly as she listened to the sounds of him making himself comfortable.

Grady's snoring soon filled the room and June started to count the minutes that passed until she dozed off as well.

* * *

**A/N:** A little something for all the June/Bible shippers out there. This was actually a really fun chapter to write. Also about the fact that Bible is married... yeah I might just pretend he's not. He doesn't strike me as the type who would cheat, since he's quite religious and stuff. Please let me know what your thoughts were as I'm very intrigued because this chapter was more Bible/June than Wardaddy/June. Please let me know and until next time!


	12. Lost Horizon

June was the first to awake the following morning. Sunlight delicately streamed through the curtains into the living room. The music had stopped and the soldiers had stopped partying. The sound of snoring now softly filled the room.

Slowly she opened her eyes. She still had her back to the room. Soft breathing reached her ear, sending tickles down her spine. June frowned and carefully raised her head a little so she could peer into the room.

She felt something heavy on her body. Her eyes widened when she saw what was pinning her down. It was Bible's arm. It wasn't until now June noticed how closely pressed he was against her and it was his breathing that she heard. He had slept with his head buried in her hair while his arm had rested lightly on her body.

Awkwardly she put her head down again, her mind racing. Why did he have his arm around her? She liked Bible, she had always liked him. He was the only one to be kind to her from the beginning, but she never looked at him from a romantic angle before. Had his arm ended up on her by pure coincidence or did he have feelings for her?

June held her breath. Cursing the fact she danced with him. What if it had made him think she also had feelings for him?

Her body tensed when Bible suddenly removed his arm to cough into his hand. June closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep, burying her face under her hair. Boyd turned around and he now had his back towards her.

She let out a soft sigh of relief but waited for a few minutes to make sure he had gone back to sleep again before getting up. Quietly she pushed herself upwards and carefully moved over Bible, making sure she didn't touch him in the process.

When her feet were on the ground she immediately headed out of the door. She was in dire need of some fresh air.

Judging by the crisp air it was still early. The sun was just peaking over the mountains in the distance, casting everything in a slightly orange light. June looked at her tank. _Fury_ the barrel read. She never knew why that name was chosen and made a mental note to ask Wardaddy about it.

She felt a presence behind her. June turned her head to look over her shoulder. It was Norman. He looked like shit. He had bags under his eyes, his hair was a mess and even after a day he managed to get his uniform dirty. Black smears covered his trousers and his right sleeve was stained with blood. June had no idea whose blood it was.

"Slept okay?" she asked, looking ahead of her again.

Norman stood next to her. "Not really," he replied, an uneasy tone to his voice.

"Me neither," June replied honestly.

She knew what they both were afraid of. Today they were going to head straight into combat with the two least experienced soldiers behind the wheel of the tank. It was safe to say June was not looking forward to it.

They stood there in silence, admiring the sunrise. June suddenly realized this could be the last sunrise she would ever see, and immediately she began to appreciate its beauty. The chance to die was great every day, but today the odds of dying had increased. She could only hope Wardaddy would keep his promise and get them through it safely.

After a while more soldiers emerged on the streets. An uneasy tension hung among them. Everyone was preparing for combat. All those who had been partying yesterday now were only focussing on living another day to party.

Wardaddy flashed her a kind smile as he approached her and Norman. They had already taken their positions in the tank, trying to get used to each other.

"We'll be heading out in 10 minutes," he told her before turning himself to Norman. "Make sure Bible and Grady are here when we leave. Use whatever means necessary to get them out of there, okay?"

Norman nodded and climbed off the tank, jogging towards the house they had been sleeping in.

Collier looked up to her. "Come down for a second, I want to show you the map."

While he reached inside of his jacket to retrieve the map, June jumped down and went to stand next to him, her eyes pinned on the map he placed on the tank so he could show her what exactly they were going to do that day.

"See this?" he asked, his finger point at a crossroad. "This is the crossroad we need to retake."

He began to turn the map so that it faced north. "Krauts are positioned here, and here," he pointed at two distinct points on the map. "They got the general stuff, heavy weapons, artillery, you name it. But there have been reports of Tiger tanks around here."

June followed his finger over the map, trying to remember everything he was telling her carefully.

"How many Tigers?" she asked, looking up at him.

His fierce blue eyes pierced through hers. "I don't know. Could be one, could be ten."

"Ten?" she scoffed. "They definitely want us dead."

"If with 'they' you mean the Krauts, you are very correct," Wardaddy chuckled.

June was more thinking about her CO's. They were heading right into a trap. There were not many of them. Last time she counted there were about 12 tanks, all with a five person crew. Infantry soldiers were not accompanying them and neither was air support. This was going to be very hard but if she were to trust Wardaddy, it was doable and he had done worse.

"I have faith in you," he spoke. "I'm not saying it's gonna be easy. But you have the skills necessary to get us through there."

"And Norman?" June asked, not forgetting about her even less experienced assistant driver.

"I will keep an eye out on him. Don't worry about it."

She heard the voices of Grady and Bible growing louder with every step they took towards the tank. June looked behind her over her shoulder but quickly turned her head again and stared at the map when Bible had spotted her.

A knot formed in her stomach. Had Bible realized he had slept with his arm around her and his face pressed into her hair?

June felt her heartbeat increasing as he stood next to her. Wardaddy explained the plan to them a second time. She kept her eyes focussed on the map as she didn't dare to look at him. From now on she had to be careful with how she acted around him. She didn't want to give him the wrong idea, not now since everything was going back to normal.

They positioned themselves inside the tank. June chatted with Norman. Grady still refused to talk to him except for the occasional snarky remark. Both Bible and Wardaddy head their bodies popped out of the main hatch in the middle of the tank.

She was kind of glad she had to focus on driving. Her mind was with the road at all times which didn't leave her much time to think about Bible. With her hatch open driving the tank was even more difficult. She couldn't see any of her controls and she had to trust herself she knew what she was doing.

There were three tanks before hers so she could follow their tracks. Behind her was the rest of the convoy. June was glad she was in the middle. It gave her a sense of security.

When they reached a road with a perfect line of trees for concealment Wardaddy ordered her to halt over the comm.  
"Let's take a break," he said, her earpiece crackling when he began to speak.

June let the tank come to halt before shutting off the engine. She took off her helmet and placed her hands on the outside tank so she could push herself out of her hatch, sliding off.

"I gotta pee," she spoke a little awkwardly. "Could someone come with me?"

June remembered all too well what had happened the last time she had gone to pee in the woods all by herself. She wasn't taking any chances this time.

"Just pee in the tank," Grady said, opening his gun to make sure everything was still clean.

"And give you an excuse to stare at my ass," June replied with raised eyebrows. "I think I'll pass."

Grady rolled his eyes and turned his back towards her, giving Norman a dirty look as he turned.

When speaking she had made sure Bible had been out of sight. The last thing she wanted was him to come along with her.

"Let's go," Wardaddy suddenly appeared next to her. June had hoped Norman would've said yes, but she figured having Collier by herself would mean absolutely nothing could happen.

She nodded and they set off to through the line of trees which proved to be the beginning of a small forest which was probably planted by some of the farmers who had lived nearby before the war.  
"How many more miles until we get to the crossroad?" June asked, carefully placing her feet on the uneven ground.

"About thirty," Collier replied.

They came to a halt. They were out of sight from the tanks, concealed by the many bushes and trees that stood between them.

June crossed her arms in front of her chest as Wardaddy's eyes found hers.

"June," he began.

"Yes?" she breathed. Collier saying her name send butterflies straight to her stomach.

And then he inched his head closer and pressed his lips against hers.

June was taken by surprise. Was she dreaming? What was he doing? But she couldn't stop herself to ask. She moved her hands into his neck as she stood on her tiptoes because he towered over her.

Wardaddy moved one hand to the small of her back, pulling her body against his while cupping her cheek with his other hand. He tasted like cigarette smoke with a faint hint of the whiskey he had drank the evening before.

For a moment she was scared someone might see them but when she felt his tongue brushing against her lip, asking for entrance she suddenly forgot what she was thinking about. Eagerly she parted her lips, feeling his tongue against hers.

She had dreamed about this ever since that evening. However she had always expected those dreams to stay dreams since Wardaddy had told her off the following day. This was never going to happen again, yet here they were, doing it again.

His hand slid down from her back to her butt, his fingers tracing the curve through her thick trousers, before sliding up again.

June took a deep breath when he pulled away, her eyes lost in his.

"Why did you do that?" she asked softly. Her lips were only inches away from his and it was hard to not press them against his again.

"The mission they gave us is not gonna be easy," he spoke.

"You're saying I might not survive this day?"

"I'm saying we all might not survive this day."

June looked at her feet, steadying her breathing. His hands were still on her hips, as if he was not ready to let go.

"What about your promise? You said it could be done."

Wardaddy shook his head. "When I made that promise I still had hope and I wanted you to have hope. But this war is not over. Many more will die. The odds are not in my favor anymore. I'm not sure if I can keep the promise."

* * *

**A/N:** Hello! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter will involve a combat scene I'm nervous about writing. Anyway, sorry Bible/June shippers, it had to be done, haha. Please let me know what your thoughts were and until next time! :)


	13. Dead End

The day had grown dark and gloomy, as if it knew what was about to happen. Their tanks rolled onto the fields. The crossroads were in their sight. There were five Tigers. Even though there were twelve of them, the Tigers were much stronger than their Shermans. They didn't stand a chance not unless they all worked together.

All their hatches were closed off. Bible and Grady were preparing the gun, making sure they were not gonna waste any time when they had to act quickly.

June was peering through her optics, occasionally shouting instructions to Norman who seemed to be glued to his metal chair. The chair she was supposed to be seated in.

Her hands worked the controls as she edged the tank forward. They were driving side by side, guns blazing. The only sounds she could make out was the sound of bullets flying through the air and Wardaddy and the other sergeants cursing over the comms.

She didn't have any time to think about what had happened in the woods. Wardaddy had kissed her. He had taken the initiative. For a moment she had been so happy and relieved. He still wanted her. But then he spoke about his intentions behind the kiss and her confidence was shattered.

"June, drive up another hundred yards and then make a sharp turn to the left," Collier ordered. "We're gonna try to get them from the sides. Murder Inc. is coming with us, wait for my command. Coon-Ass get ready to load."

She held her breath as she waited for his order. Twenty yards, thirty yards, forty yards. When the final yards approached she got ready, her fingers ready to act.

"June, GO."

Her fingers gripped the controls and she pulled hard, turning the tank to the left, following Murder Inc. Instinctively she ducted for a string of bullets headed her way, but the bullets were never going to hit her through the metal exterior of the tank.

She followed Murder Inc. closely. Behind her Bible and Grady were shouting while working the gun. She couldn't make out what they were saying. Her mind was too clouded with thoughts to be able to make anything out.

June took her eyes off the road for a second, taking a look at Norman, realizing he wasn't doing anything.

"Norman?" she shouted. "Fucking shoot something. Help me get through this field!"

But he seemed to be too overwhelmed by everything to react. He had leaned back in his chair, his eyes focussed on nothing while he was softly sobbing.

June looked back through her optics. She couldn't afford to be distracted for so long. Noticing she had gone to the right slightly she adjusted the course of the tank, falling in line behind Murder Inc. perfectly.

"NORMAN," she tried again.

Wardaddy had heard her over the comm. She felt a presence behind her and suddenly she was able to make out his voice.

"Norman," Wardaddy spoke sternly. "Do your fucking job. If you're not shooting them, they're gonna shoot you. If you want to be alive at the end of the day I suggest you start doing something right now."

His pep talk seemed to have worked. Norman picked up his machine gun and started the shoot. June saw his tracers fly through the fields, hitting nothing. She didn't want to say anything about it, she was glad he was back in the game again.

She felt Wardaddy's hand on her shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze before he disappeared again. His touch send shivers down her spine, but she had to admit his gesture made her feel appreciated. Maybe she wasn't doing too bad after all. Maybe he had been wrong. Maybe they were going to live through the day.

"Bible get ready!" Wardaddy spoke through the comms again.

They had reached the flanks. June turned the tank so they came directly face to face with the Tigers. She spotted them in the distance. They were turning as well, ready to shoot.

"Fucking hell," June muttered when she noticed the huge Tigers. Compared to them their Fury was nothing.

Their shot just barely missed them. A few feet lower and that would've been the end of it. But they were still alive and pressing through.

Bible took a shot which hit their heavy siege gun full on, making it unusable.

"How is the rest doing, Collier?" Bible asked.

It took him a moment to reply. "Four are gone," he spoke with heavy heart.

"Shit," June said.

It felt as if her heart stopped beating when she realized she was driving right over dead bodies, crushing them under the tank.

_Don't look at them_, she thought. _Keep your eyes focussed ahead. Don't look at them._

And so she followed the other tank through the blood stained mud, outflanking the Tigers.

But the Germans were catching up on their plan. She watched two of the Tigers break away from their convoy, turning to them. It was now two against two.

"Keep moving, June. KEEP MOVING," Wardaddy shouted over the comms.

Grady and Bible kept firing their gun, but their shots seemed to fail to hit anything. They were lucky the Germans weren't hitting anything either. All their shots just missed them.

June let the tank come to a halt. Murder Inc had been hit. Fire erupted in the tank next to them. She held her breath as she watched the men threw open their hatches, trying to escape the fire that was going to burn them alive.

"June," Grady said, grabbing her shoulders to shake her to wake her up.

She kept looking at the soldiers. Some escaped with their uniforms burning while others didn't make it. The fire spread quicker than they could escape.

"JUNE!" Grady tried again.

When his shaking started to get rougher June snapped out of it. Her mind seemed to be clear again and she could focus again.

"What do I do?" she asked. "Where do I go?"

The two Tigers were heading to them. Her heartbeat started to increase as she began to notice the details on the far superior tanks. They were getting so close now. And they were only by themselves.

"Push back," Wardaddy ordered. "We need to link up with the rest."

June reversed the tank while Grady fired off another round. It hit the ground just in front one of the Tigers, creating a big cloud of smoke around them.

"Go, go, go!" Collier shouted.

June bit her lip as she tried her best to get them out of there as quickly as possible. She couldn't see what the Germans were doing behind that wall of smoke, but she could see their own tanks. Their own tank included, there were only five of them left.

The smoke screen gave them an advantage. June was able to turn the tank away from the Tigers, joining the rest. Wardaddy was speaking with the other sergeants over the comms, working out a strategy.

"Don't waste all your bullets, Norman," June spoke when she noticed he hadn't stopped shooting. "We don't have an unlimited supply. When you think you have a good shot, take it."

He nodded and he stopped shooting.

To their right a Tiger emerged from the cloud of smoke, but they were able to dismantle it. Seeing the Tiger explode gave her courage and hope. The Germans weren't untouchable. If they kept going, they could make it.

June cursed her superiors for sending them into this battle. They needed air support, yet it was not given to them. They needed more than this. The only thing left to do was to quickly think of a plan to make it through.

"If I don't get a fucking medal for this," June muttered to herself although she knew she would never get a medal. Any medal she would have earned would go to her brother. Her dog tag didn't even read June Nichols. Technically she didn't even exist.

A second Tiger went up in flames. June advanced Fury forward. She had her eyes set on one of them and she wanted nothing more to see that one go up in flames as well. For the first time in the war she felt blood thirsty. Never before did she want to kill something so badly.

Sadly the killing was left for the guys. The only thing she could do was guide them to the tank, making it easier for them to hit their targets.

"Fuck," she said when the tank on her left came to a halt after it was hit. It was three against three now.

"Push through, June," Wardaddy informed her. "Get up as close as you can. The only way we're able to win this thing is in close range."

Tanks never fought at close range yet this situation called for a lot of improvising.

"We're getting too close!" June said when she came face to face with a Tiger. She could stare directly in the barrel of their gun. One shot and it would be done, finished.

"Keep going!" Wardaddy said.

Her heart started to pound uncontrollably. It was as if she was staring death right in the face.

"GRADY HURRY," she shouted. They needed to be faster than them.

Time seemed to slow down when Bible called their shot. She watched it soar through the air. It slowly got closer and closer to the Tiger.

And it hit it before they were able to make a shot.

"YES," Bible shouted when he saw what his shot had done.

June couldn't contain her smile, she averted the tank and went around the Tiger. Norman shot down all the Germans trying to escape.

"Good job, Norman," June nodded, looking ahead where the rest of the Tigers were.

But there were none left.

"We did it!" a sergeant called over the comms. "We goddamn fucking did it!"

June let her tank come to a halt. Her fingers ached from gripping the controls. Her entire body was cramped and tense yet it couldn't help her from stop laughing victoriously.

The celebration quickly concluded when they saw the impact of the battle. They headed into this fight with twelve tanks but only four came out. They had taken the crossroad, but at a great cost.

Adrenaline was still rushing through her veins when June found herself wandering the fields, looking for a spot clear of blood and guts to sit down.

She stopped in her tracks when she spotted someone in the distance, kneeled on one knee. She narrowed her eyes and quickly recognized him as Wardaddy. For a moment she decided against going to him, but then she remembered what had happened earlier. He had kept her alive. The least she could do was thank him.

Quietly she shuffled towards him. Collier was staring in the distance. She bit her lip as she approached him, clearing her throat to let him know of her presence.

A cigarette balanced on his lips as he rested his arms on his knee, leaning forward. He looked weary. Was it right of her to come to him?

"You kept your promise," June spoke, taking a knee besides him.

"Yeah," Wardaddy nodded, but she heard a hint of disappointment in his voice.

He extended his arm to offer her his cigarette, which she accepted. She brought it to her mouth and took a slow drag, enjoying the smoke that filled her lungs before breathing it out. She gave it back to him and watched him do the same.

"You did good today," he spoke, looking at her.

"Thanks," she replied with a soft smile. She appreciated that coming from him.

"I kept us alive, but what about the rest?"

June took a deep breath. "You can't save them all. They might have been your friends, but they were not your responsibility. They had their own sergeant. They had their own protector."

His eyes still pierced through her.

"You are too good for this war," he spoke, serious.

June scoffed. "No one is above war."

* * *

**A/N:** I needed to get this chapter out as soon as possible. I had some difficulty writing the battle scenes, mostly because I find I don't know enough to properly write them. All the technical terms and strategies and how tanks actually work, I just... don't know. So hopefully I did not disappoint. Anyway, I'm looking forward to writing the next chapter. Until next time and please leave a review! I really appreciate them! :)


	14. Quality Street

Once the infantry had passed through the crew was able to get to their next town. It was still early in the day which meant there were quite a few hours of daylight left when they would arrive. June couldn't wait to use her hours of free time to be alone and think. Even if it meant shutting herself in an outhouse.

Wardaddy informed them the town would not be deserted like the others they had been in. Behind her June heard Grady chuckling softly. She rolled her eyes. Where there were people there were women.

Because they had returned with so few of them they all could take a house for themselves. Bible decided they were to take a typical German house. It had a white exterior with exposed beams and wooden shutters. It was still entirely intact, as was most of the town. Judging by the amount of people out on the street it almost looked like the war had failed to hit this town.

Grady kicked open the locked door, damaging it in the process. He shrugged when he saw the damage he had caused and proceeded to the room on his left.

June came in right behind him, her weapon aimed in front of her. The town did not look hostile but she was rather safe than sorry.

The living room was clear, but judging by a mug of hot tea still steaming the house was definitely not abandoned.

The kitchen was clear as was the dining room. Bible led them upstairs and turned to a bedroom.

June checked the bathroom but found it was clear as well. Where were they hiding?

"June?" she heard Bible shout from the bedroom he had entered.

"Yeah?" she answered, taking one good look around the bathroom before finding him in the bedroom. He was standing still before a crib, his eyes resting on something inside of it.

And then it started crying. A baby.

June shuffled closer, her eyes widening as she saw the baby. Judging by the style of clothes it was wearing it was a boy. She cocked her head to the right when it didn't stop crying, unsure what to do.

"Are you going to take it?" he asked her impatiently.

She switched her gaze from the baby to him, raising her eyebrows.

"Why me?" she asked. "You found it first."

"I just…" Bible tried to talk but June cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

"It's because I'm a woman, isn't it?" she said, unimpressed.

"No!" Bible tried to reply, but she wasn't stupid.

"Babies hate me. I just don't know what to do with them," she hissed when the baby started to cry louder. Where were the parents?

"What's going on here?" Grady appeared in the doorway. He took large strides towards them, pushing them both aside to look at what they had found.

"A baby," he spoke softly before turning himself to them. "Well what are you waiting for? He's gotta go. We found the rest hiding in the bedroom, I guess they forgot him."

Neither Bible nor June reacted as they helplessly watched the baby, neither of them wanted to take him into their arms.

When it seemed that no one was going to do it June looked down at her hands. They were stained with blood, grease and dirt, hardly the hands to hold a baby with. But if no one was going to take it she would do it.

"Shhh," Grady hushed. Before she had the chance to take him into her arms, Grady had already done so. He delicately cradled the baby in his own arms and miraculously it stopped crying.

June was perplexed. She looked at Bible who gave her the exact same expression. Who would've known Grady was so good with babies?

They followed Grady down the stairs and watched him hand the baby to what looked like his mother. Wardaddy was telling them to leave their houses in German, probably reassuring they could have it back tomorrow.

June quietly watched on as the family protested. She couldn't understand what they were saying, but she knew they were not happy. Her mind wandered to her own house back in the United States. How unhappy she would have been if someone simply would try to take it. But during a war the circumstances were different. Giving your house to someone else for a night seemed a small price to be paid when compared to the soldiers risking their lives on daily basis. Did they not understand they were here to help them?

Finally after allowing to let them take some stuff with them the family left and they had the house for themselves.

June went to the kitchen and opened the cabinets, finding they had the expensive kind of tea she enjoyed so much back at home. Eagerly she began to brew a pot, getting herself a big mug. She called out to the rest of them that a pot of tea was waiting for them in the kitchen, but only Norman heard her.

When she returned in the living room everyone was gone already.

"Where did everyone go?" she asked, taking a seat on the couch in front of the window so she could look outside.

"Sgt. Collier went to see the Captain, but I don't know where Bible and Grady went," Norman replied. He had found a book in the bookcase.

"Can you speak German?" June asked, intrigued, seeing the title of the book was in German.

Norman shook his head. "Nope. I just like to look at the pictures."

June smiled softly, agreeing that sometimes pictures were enough to create a story in your head. She focused her gaze outside again, watching the soldiers mingle with the locals on the town square.

But then she spotted Grady, chatting up a pretty looking woman.

She slammed her cup on the table, accidentally spilling some of her tea on the ground. Norman looked up from his pictures, his eyebrows raised.

"I'll be right back," June spoke, hurrying out of the door and towards Grady.

She would never forget the way he had treated her the first day they had met. When climbing up on the tank he had tried to touch her butt, and judging by the way he had his arms around the woman he was going to try the same thing with her.

"Grady," June breathed when she stood behind him. The woman looked at her curiously as Grady turned to face her.

"Not right now, June. I'm fucking busy."

Before he was able to turn back to his lady June spoke up. "Just treat her with respect, okay?"

He scoffed. "Respect?"

"Yeah," June nodded, a stern look on her face. "Don't force yourself on her."

Grady wanted to laugh but his mood suddenly changed when he noticed June wouldn't give up.

"I won't," he finally said. "Now just back off, okay?"

"Promise me," June demanded. "Promise me you'll treat her with respect."

The woman still looked at them curiously, she had no idea what they were discussing.

"Okay, okay," Grady gave in. "I promise."

"Good," June said contently, flashing the woman a soft smile before she returned to the house.

Norman awaited her with raised eyebrows, wondering what made her leave so quickly.

She grabbed her cup of tea from the table and sat down again on the exact same spot. When her eyes met his she smiled softly.

"Don't worry," she spoke. "That was something between me and Grady."

Norman looked from his book to her. "Do you mind if we not speak anymore? I kind of enjoyed the silence."

June nodded. "There is nothing I enjoy more."

Since the pantry in the kitchen was still stocked June decided to cook everyone dinner. While the boys apart from Norman were still outside doing god knows what, June decided to take the initiative and cook them all a dinner.

Norman wanted to help so she gave him the task of cutting the potatoes while she rummaged around the kitchen to find everything she would need. In the end she managed to find enough supplies to cook them almost a feast.

The cooking was all worth it when she noticed the expressions on their faces when they entered the house. They were greeted by the smell of chicken soup, meat balls, potatoes and vegetables. It had been quite a while since they had eaten like this. Their rations were nothing compared to this.

When Grady entered the dining room June raised her eyebrows. She was lying if she would say she wasn't curious as to what had happened between him and the girl, but at the same time she was afraid to ask.

As she put the plates on the table, sliding them to Bible so he could spread them around the table, Grady stood behind her, his body almost pressed to her.

"Don't worry, June," he whispered in her ear. "She was very willing."

She rolled her eyes and stepped away from him, not sure if he was sarcastic or not. If he had forced himself upon her she could at least say she had tried to avoid it.

"You wanna to say grace, Bible?" Wardaddy asked once they were all seated.

June was seated on his left and awaited for Bible to speak. She knew he always valued this moment so she didn't want to take it away from him. She had to flash Grady an angry look when he tried to sneak a potato wedge into his mouth. Quietly he ate it while Bible spoke his words.  
"Amen," they all spoke when he was finished and then they all dug into their dinner.

* * *

**A/N:** Even though this isn't the most action-packed chapter, I did enjoy writing it. I also wanted to let you guys know that I do read and appreciate every review. Please keep them coming. I'm currently looking into the ending of this story, and I got quite the plot twist coming up in the next chapters so please stay tuned :)


	15. Storm in a Teacup

After dinner June thought it would be a good idea to take a walk around the town and clear her head. They had all helped her with doing the dishes. Even Grady pitched in even though she had decided to ignore him as she still wasn't exactly over the comment he had made earlier.

The sun was setting behind the trees. June stood before their house and sniffed the evening air. The clouds in the sky were colored red. She remembered some said that meant that blood had been spilled that day. She agreed that was definitely the case.

She began walking down the street, occasionally peaking through the windows of the houses she passed. Her mother always commented how she was too curious for her own good. She had been right. June liked to know exactly what was happening and this had gotten her in trouble before.

The fourth house she passed had been transformed into a make shift aid station. A banner with a red cross hung from the window and people were rushing in and out.

For a moment June stood still and listened. She would never get used to the screams of men dying and in pain. Their screams would haunt her for the years to come.

A window opened. Somebody emptied a bucket on the street. Blood fell down on the cobbles, dyeing them a crimson color.

It wasn't the blood that interested her, it was the person who had thrown it outside.

Her curiosity taking over again and June headed inside. She slipped past the wounded soldiers into the room where she had seen her. A woman. A nurse.

There she was. June's eyes had not deceived her. Before her stood a woman dressed in a woolen dress. Blood stains covered the front and her hands were stained a dark brown color as well. Her blonde hair was tied into a bun but a few strands of hair had managed to escape.

"Can I help you?" she asked her, a kind smile on her lips.

"Oh," June stumbled, realizing she had probably been staring at her. It had been so long since she had seen a woman in service.

"Are you a soldier?" the nurse asked. She took a step forward, wiping her hands on her dress.

"Uh, yes," June replied, rubbing her hands together.

"In the army?" the nurse tried again. "You're not a nurse?"

"Yes, in the army," she replied. "I'm driving one of the tanks."

"Really?" the nurse said, intrigued. "How did that happen?"

June chuckled. "Long story."

The nurse pointed to an old couch in the corner of the room. "I have all night."

She nodded and sat down next to the nurse, crossing her legs.

"I'm Susanna," the nurse kindly introduced herself.

"June," she replied with a smile.

And so she told Susanna her entire story. From her brother to enlisting, from her training to the cat calling.

"It happens so often," Susanna agreed. "I would've thought they would contain themselves around me. I'm only trying to help them, but that didn't seem to be a good enough reason to stop the comments."

June nodded. "Yeah. It never seems to end, doesn't it?"

Talking with someone like Susanna gave her more joy than anything. She was her equal. They were both women and both shared the same hardships during this war. The only difference was that Susanna was wearing a dress while June wore trousers.

A wounded soldier being brought in meant Susanna had to leave. Before she headed out the room she turned to June.

"I hope we can meet again sometime after this war."

June smiled. "I hope so too."

She found Norman outside a few houses down the street. Absentmindedly he was staring at the cobbled street as if he was counting all the individual stones that lined it.

"Norman?" June said, approaching him carefully as to not make him jump.

"Hey," he said when he looked up and snapped out of his trance-like state.

"Why aren't you back at the house?"

"Grady and Bible are playing cards and drinking."

"Oh," June replied, remembering them getting very loud whenever they had consumed a bit of alcohol.

They started walking.

"How are you doing?" June asked.

"Today was hard," Norman admitted. "This morning... It was unlike anything I have ever experienced."

June couldn't imagine what it would be like being dropped into combat without any experience. Considering the circumstances he had held together very well.

"Today was one of the worst days," June replied. "It never gets any worse than this, trust me."

It took her a few seconds to realize what she had said. Quickly she added: "Not that the other days are easy, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah," Norman said. "When will this war end?"

"I don't know, Norman. I don't know."

Her eyes fell on the tree line at the far end of the town. The sun was completely out of sight by now. The sky was already growing dark. There were still a few clouds illuminated in an orange light.

"We should head back," June suggested. "It's getting dark."

Norman nodded and they followed their path back to their house. He told her some things about his family which she enjoyed listening to. For a moment it felt like they were friends out for a walk. For a moment she forgot about the war.

Her peaceful train of thoughts was disrupted when a group of soldiers suddenly stopped in front of her.

"Where you off to?" they asked. "Where did you get that uniform, Fräulein?"

Norman's gaze switched between her and the soldiers. Before he was able to ask what was going on June put her hand on his arm, shaking her head.

"Is this your girlfriend?" they inquired. "She good in bed?"

They were all laughing.

June rolled her eyes and looked up to the building on her left, actively avoiding any of their gazes, waiting for them to shut up and leave her alone. She always found that the silent treatment worked the best. Sooner or later they would grow bored of her and went looking for someone else to torment.

"June," Norman hissed. He wanted to move along, but she didn't want them to follow her back to their house.

So she kept her mouth shut and let their comments wash over her. She tried to focus on the sound of a couple talking inside of the house, blocking out everything else.

Her technique had worked once again. After a few good minutes they left after shouting a few obscenities at her.

When they were out of sight she turned to Norman, awaiting his reaction. All the guys had experienced her catcalling before, but this was Norman's first time.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked her, his eyes wide.

"Do you honestly think that will help?" June replied with a half smile. "I'm used to it. Come on, let's go."

They found their way back to their house in silence. She decided to drink one mug of her tea before she would pick one of the bedrooms on the second floor and go to sleep.

She stopped in her tracks when she spotted Bible sitting at the kitchen table, reading his beloved book. June had not forgotten about last night. His body was pressed against hers, his face was buried in her hair, his arm was wrapped around her waist. Yet she couldn't avoid him for the rest of the war. She decided the best thing was to forget it had happened in the first place.

Softly she entered, giving him a soft smile as his eyes met hers. From the kitchen cabinet she grabbed a clean mug and emptied the teapot to brew new tea.

"If I ask you something," Bible started. He had put down his book. "Will you answer me honestly?"

June looked over her shoulder, frowning slightly. "Yeah, of course."

She turned back to her tea. She put a saucepan with water on the stove, waiting for it to boil before she could use it.

"Don't take this the wrong way," Bible continued. He pushed his chair backwards and made his way over to her, leaning against the kitchen cabinets while crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Take what the wrong way?" June asked, growing more nervous with every second. What was he going on about?

"You and Wardaddy, what is going on?"

His eyes pierced through hers. She had to do her best not to give anything away. With great difficulty she tried to keep her expression as neutral as possible. Even though she said she would reply honestly she couldn't. Nobody could never know about them. She did not want to put Wardaddy in that position. She was the one who started it after all.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"You two seem close," Bible said thoughtfully. "More close than before."

"Boyd," June said, placing her hand on his arm. "Nothing is going on. He's my superior for crying out loud."

Bible frowned as his gaze still lingered on hers and June could only hope he believed her.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm sorry for the fact this chapter is a little short, next one will be longer I promise! Please let me know what your thoughts were and I'll try to upload the new chapter asap :)


	16. The Lady Vanishes

The family they had kicked out was able to go back to their house the following day. June had tried to clean the kitchen, getting rid of all the dishes, and making sure all the empty bottles of liquor were collected and put into a box. The least thing she could do was make it look like they hadn't been there.

After yesterday she felt a lot more confident as a driver. It had been a great learning experience. With ease she steered the tank towards the edge of the town. Wardaddy even had her in the front, trusting her with the responsibility of leading the rest of the convoy.

They all had their hatches open to soak in the sun. June had taken off her jacket since it was too hot inside of the stuffy tank. The guys were all discussing their adventures of the night before. She didn't listen to what they were saying as she was too busy with taking in the gorgeous scenery that surrounded her.

Mountains higher than she had ever seen surrounded her on all sides. The valley was covered in soft green grass. Flowers lined the dirt road going right between the mountains and in the far distance she noticed the sparkling blue water of a lake. Under different circumstances she would love to visit Germany again.

After Bible had confronted her about her relationship with Wardaddy, she wasn't able to go to sleep. She could only think about him seeing them kiss in the forest, their hands all over each other's bodies. June had made sure no one was around them to see, but what if someone did see her?

She promised herself she had to be more careful from now on. Besides, a war wasn't exactly a place for a romantic relationship to blossom. Yet she definitely had feelings for Collier.

"Keep an eye out, Norman," June spoke. The sun was blinding to her sometimes so she definitely needed an extra set of eyes to keep a look out for her. "You never know who is hiding behind the bushes."

"I will," Norman nodded.

June smiled softly. He was doing his best and she admired him for it. He had done everything she asked of him.

And so they continued their path to their next objective.

It wasn't until they had covered a good thirty miles when they ran into Germans. Norman had spotted them in the distance behind a stack of hay, their weapons aimed at them.

"Are you sure?" June asked, remembering hearing something about orders to keep the buildings in tact. She didn't want to shoot up a house for nothing.

"Positive," Norman said, his fingers gripping his gun.

June couldn't see the Germans herself but then again she had to concentrate on the road. The only thing she could do was ask Wardaddy for confirmation.

"I see it as well," he replied, peering through his binoculars. "Light 'em up, Norman."

"Yessir," Norman spoke and he began to shoot down the Germans he had spotted in the distance.

It wasn't until she saw where his tracers were heading to when she spotted them herself. There were four of them. June figured they were getting their artillery ready to fire at them, but luckily Norman had spotted them sooner.  
"Norman, that's enough!" June spoke hastily after he didn't stop shooting.

After a few seconds he released his finger from the trigger and the bullets stopped. The building was completely covered with bullet holes front to back, but at least their enemies were dead.

"Jesus Christ, Norman," Grady chuckled. "You got a sudden need for revenge or what?"

Norman remained silent, but when June quickly glanced to her side to look at him she noticed the fire in his eyes. Where he had been hesitant to shoot before, he now was blood thirsty as if he wanted to kill as many Germans as he could.

"You're like a goddamn machine," he added.

Both Wardaddy and Bible started to laugh.

"That could be his war name," Bible spoke.

"Machine," Wardaddy tried, listening to how the nickname sounded.

June perked her ears. War name? She knew all the guys had nicknames, but she had never guessed those were the names they had earned during combat. A lot of soldiers she had met over the years had gotten nicknames from her fellow soldiers. June never did.

"MACHINE," Grady roared.

Norman chuckled nervously and amused at the same time.

June kept her eyes stuck on the road ahead, not responding to any of them. She did not have a war name, but here was Norman, getting one before she did.

She shook her head. She was getting angry over a goddamn nickname, yet she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. She had done plenty of stuff during the war that was enough to earn her her own war name, yet no one had ever given it to her.

"Hey, Machine," Bible laughed. "Keep your eyes on the fucking road."

They all laughed over his name, but June did not laugh with them.

"What about me?" she demanded.

"What do you mean?" Grady asked.

It was hard to have a conversation while driving as it required all her attention, yet she did not want this to wait. She had a right to tell them what she thought.

"I'm just June."

"You're not just June," Bible defended.

"Then what is my war name?" she said, raising her shoulders.

It was silent.

"We'll think of one for you, okay?" Bible responded, a lot more serious.

"Yeah, whatever," June shrugged.  
June was glad when they reached camp. The rest of the trip she hadn't said a word. Sometimes she had to bite on her tongue not to let out a snarky passive aggressive remark as she did not want to fight with any of them, yet she did let them know she was definitely annoyed by her lack of a war name.

Wardaddy all gave them different tasks and put them to work. Grady had to repair some things on the tank, Norman had to get more fuel, Bible got the post and June made her way over camp in search for some rations.

Luckily everyone seemed to be too busy to pay attention to her and she managed to get across camp without anyone calling her out. It seemed that the entire camp was running low on rations as she didn't manage to get many. Still with a box full in her arms she got back to the tank.

Grady was working his magic under the tank. He was the best technician she had seen and their tank always seemed to run more smoothly than that of the rest. June had to give credit where it was due.

After dropping her rations in the tank she climbed out again and positioned herself comfortably in the grass before closing her eyes, letting her skin soak up the rays of sun. The thing she disliked about camps the most was the fact that they always seemed to be waiting on orders. There was nothing to explore or to do.

She lifted her head when she heard Bible approaching with a stack of post in his hand. When she noticed it was only that he was carrying she put her head back again. She never got any post anyway so there was no need to get up.

In the meantime both Norman and Wardaddy had returned as well. He had explained Norman how to fill the tank with fuel and was now showing him where to stash the other jerrycans.

"Don," Bible spoke, handing him a few letters.

He crouched down on his knees and handed Grady his before turning himself to Norman.

"You got a few love letters?" Bible chuckled, bringing the envelopes closer to his nose so he could smell. "Yep, these are definitely love letters."

"Shut up," Norman said, slightly annoyed as he pulled his letters from Bible's grasp.

Bible went through the rest of the letters.

"June," he spoke carefully.

She raised her head, opening her eyes slowly to let them adjust to the harsh lighting of the sun. His fingers had stopped on one letter. Slowly he took it from the stack and shuffled closer to June, his eyes troubled.

"What is it?" June asked confused.

"It's for you."

She cocked her head to the right. "For me?" she scoffed.

"Yeah, I'm serious," he said, extending his arm to hand her the letter.

"Please let this be a joke," June mumbled as she pushed herself upwards so she could take the letter into her own hands.

Her eyes glided over the front. She recognized that handwriting. She would recognize the cursive letters from anymore. It was her mother's.

Within an instant her heart started to pound and she felt butterflies fluttering through her stomach. June felt her cheeks growing red as well as she felt everyone's eyes on her. She never received any post. During this entire war her parents had not sent her anything, why was she suddenly getting this now?

Nervously she put her finger through the paper and ripped open the envelope. Her hands trembled as she unfolded the letter and held it in front of her.

Even though four people were staring at her, she read the letter to herself, wanting to read what her mother had to say first before she would tell anyone else.

_Dear June,_

_With a heavy heart I'm informing you that your brother has sadly been killed in action,_

_Love, Mother_

_She let the letter fall out of her hand and began to look around her._

"I gotta get the fuck out of here."

* * *

**A/N:** Well. What did you guys think of that twist? :)


	17. A Man to Remember

She pushed herself upwards, the letter clutched in her hand. They were still staring at her, wondering what was going on.

"Getting out of here?" Bible asked, frowning slightly. "I don't understand?"

June sighed and threw the letter in his direction. "Read it," she spoke, her words dripping with anger.

She clenched her fists as she waited until Bible had read the letter out loud. Hearing it a second time only was confirmation it was all real. Her brother was dead. Her brother was really dead.

"Killed in action?" Wardaddy took a few steps forward, closing the distance between him and June. "But you took his place?"

June was struggling with the same problem as well. She had taken his place in the army. It had been her plan and he had been grateful she had done so. But after reading the letter she began to wonder if he had not been so grateful after all.

"He joined the army," she came to the conclusion. "Even though I took his place, he still enlisted."

She grabbed the dog tag hanging around her neck and pulled it off, throwing it far away in the distance. It had no meaning anymore. The name engraved in the metal was gone. Daniel Nichols it had read.

"Why would he do that?" Bible tried carefully. He too took a step forward which resulted in June taking a step back. She needed her space.

"I don't fucking know," she began to raise her voice. "My parents probably pressured him into it, I have no idea. All I know he is fucking dead so there is no reason for me to be here right now."

All those people she had killed. All those horrific memories she would be taking home with her. It was all for nothing. Thinking about it, she did not even have a home, not anymore. Where most would see her act as heroic, her parents had always seen it as betrayal. A woman's position was not in the army. She had taken her brother's right to enlist.

Her eyes darted over the camp, trying to think of a way she could get out of here. She started to walk. She did not not know where she was going to, but she needed to get away.

"June? Where are you going?" Wardaddy called after her, but she did not listen and continued her way down the camp.

"If my brother is dead," June began. Her mind was working at full speed. Plans of escape flew through her mind. There had to be a way to get out of here. "That means this name does not exist anymore."

She stopped in her tracks. "And if that name does not exist, I can just leave."

Wardaddy stood behind her, his hands on his hips, a troubled look on his face. June shot around to face him. "I can just leave," she repeated.

"June," Don spoke, an almost begging tone to his voice.

"I can just leave," she started to laugh.

"You can't," he said while grabbing her arm to get her attention. Her eyes met his. "You are losing your mind."  
"No, Don," June said, shaking her head. "I'm the sanest I have been in months. I can see things clearly now."

"You can't leave. You cannot leave us behind."

June pulled her gaze away, focussing it on the mud. What Wardaddy said was true. Could she leave them behind? She cared about all of them. Norman, Bible, Gordo. Hell, she even cared about Grady in some fucked up away. But above all, she deeply cared for Wardaddy. He had saved her during this war. If it wasn't for him she would not be even alive right now. Could she leave them all behind?

"Would you not do the same?" she questioned.  
It suddenly dawned on her that she was not crying. Her brother was dead, killed in action, yet she could not find the energy to spare him a tear. She had been drained of them. She was empty.

Waraddy remained quiet which answered her question. He would stay behind. He would finish this war with his men. It would be his second world war.

"I entered this war," June spoke, her voice beginning to tremble. "So my brother would not. Now he is dead. What do I have to live for?"

"Us," Collier urged on. "We'll make it through this together, as a unit, a crew."

June cocked her head to the right, biting her lip. She did not enter the war to make friends, she had entered to survive, to save her brother's life. She feared now she did not have anything to live for she would risk her life and get herself or anyone else killed.

"This is my chance to leave," June tried once again. "My chance to get out of here."

"How?" he continued. "Catch the first plane heading for New York?"

"I'll find a way," June shrugged. "I have always found a way."

Wardaddy took a step forward, taking his hand into his. For a moment a silence hung between the two of them. June studied the lines on his hand, the scars. He had the true hands of a war. Dirty, scared and blood stained.

"There is no room on the tank for me when Gordo gets back," she said with a soft smile. "And that's okay. The timing is perfect. I have to leave."

"Norman came in last. He'll be the first to go," Wardaddy assured her. "Just think about it? This is the grief talking. Let it sink in for a few days."

June nodded slowly, beginning to realize maybe this was the grief talking. His eyes captured hers and she could not look away. Maybe her love for him also played a part. She had to admit having to leave him behind was something she did not want to do. Yet she could not help but feel like her brother dying was a sign, a sign she should get the fuck out of here.

She walked with Wardaddy back to their tank. Norman, Grady, and Bible looked at her with wide eyes as she approached. Especially Bible looked concerned. When he wanted to open his mouth to say something June quickly began to speak herself.

"I'm staying for now," she said before patting him on the shoulder. "No need to cry."

While she was driving their tank to their next objective she could feel everyone's eyes burning in her back. Every sudden movement she made triggered a gasp as if she was going to fall dead at any minute.

It had taken a few days for her brother's death to sink in. She had regretted throwing her dog tag away as it had been the only thing that still tied her to him. Instead she cuddled her jacket during her sleep while she pretended it had belonged to Daniel.

Still the tears never came. She could not bring herself to cry. For a moment she thought she had been turned into a heartless monster during the war, but after a while she figured it was just part of her grieving process. She never had anyone so close to her die before. This entire experience was new to her.

They all tried to make her as comfortable as possible, as none of them wanted her to leave. Norman suggested to play card games numerous times a day while Bible had given her lots of quotes from the bible that which spoke about grief. Even Grady had offered her a cigarette a few times. While June appreciated all their efforts she just did not care for them. Her mind kept running through her own house at home. Her bedroom, the kitchen, the garden where she loved to read books in during the summer under the shade of a big tree. The only thing she could think about was going away.

The sun was already setting behind the trees when she found Wardaddy behind a row of hedges. In his left hand he had a canteen that undoubtedly did not contain water and in his right hand he balanced a cigarette, putting it out as soon as he saw June approaching.

His soft smile that she loved to see slowly disappeared as snow before the sun when he saw what she was carrying in her hands. June put her bags down before taking a few steps forward so she stood closer to him.

"What are those?" Wardaddy asked, looking past her to her duffel bags.

"I'm leaving," she nodded slowly. "I thought about it and… it's just… it's what I have to do."

Wardaddy scoffed and shook his head. "No you are not."

June smiled sympathetically but it seemed to make no difference. He threw his canteen on the ground and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I forbid you," he then spoke sternly. "As your superior, I forbid you to leave."

"It has already been done," she replied raising her shoulders. "Gordo is back and there is a car waiting for me to take me to the next camp."

Seeing him react so heavily to her departure triggered something in her the death of her brother could not. A tear escaped her eye and rolled over her cheek.

"I forbid you," Wardaddy tried once again.

June shook her head. "I'm sorry," she mouthed, now more tears escaping her eyes.

"Please stay safe," she breathed before she let both her body as her lips crash against his. For the final time she took in his scent, his taste, the feel of his hands on the small of her back.

The kiss seemed to be over far too quickly but June did not know if she could continue if she would be in his arms for much longer. She had made her decision and she needed to stick with it.

When she broke away she did not dare to look him in his eyes, afraid of what she might see. Quickly she turned around, wiping the tears off her cheek with the back of her hand. She grabbed the duffel bags off the ground and fastened her pace before she would change her mind.

"June?" Wardaddy called one last time.

She hesitated a second before turning around. June knew what he wanted to say but she knew if he truly spoke the words out loud she could not leave. Wardaddy was the only man she had ever loved. How they ever had found each other in this time of despair was a miracle but she could not deny her feelings. The only thing she could do was deny his feelings.

"Don't say it," she shook her head. "Don't do that to me."

And with that as her final words she disappeared behind the hedgerow.

* * *

**A/N:** So. I maybe had to kind of cry when I wrote this chapter, not gonna lie. I just want to let you guys know that Chapter 18 will be the final chapter. I feel like I've told everything I wanted to tell and I don't want this story just to drag on and on. So yes, the next chapter is the last one. I've had the ending in mind for quite a while now so hopefully it will not disappoint. So for the final time: thank you for reading and I will see you next time! :D


	18. Gone with the Wind

June looked up from her diary when she heard a car pulling up the driveway. She put down her pencil, looking over her shoulder out of the window. A Cadillac Sedanet flew past and came to a screeching halt in front of the house.

With a soft smile on her lips she edged forward to the window, sitting down on her knees in her window seat to observe her fiancé Frank step out of the brand new vehicle. Before walking up the stone steps to the front door he looked up to her bedroom. Her eyes met his and she blew him a quick kiss which he returned with a smile.

Excitedly June began to put on her heels. She had her hair curled up into an elaborate up-do while her make-up featured a black line above her eye, lots of mascara and a bold red lip. How she had missed wearing make-up.

"June, honey?" her mother yelled from down the stairs. "Frank is here!"

"I know, mother!" June shouted back, fetching her purse from her bed. "I saw him coming in."

She hurried down the landing. Just as she was about to put her foot on the staircase she turned her head to her brother's bedroom. The door was standing open as always. The blue interior had not changed a thing since the day he had gone and for a moment she thought she saw him sitting on the bed.

"Darling, hurry!"

"Coming, mother," June sighed, shaking her head to break the illusion, carefully placing her steps.

She gave her fiancé a kiss as she reached the bottom of the stairs. He smelled like the cologne she loved so much. He complimented her on her dress before her father quickly pulled him away, his hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, here they go again," her mother sighed. "More war talk."

A lump formed in her throat. She was never allowed to participate with their conversations while she had been the only one among them who had served on the frontline, who knew what the war had been like.

While Frank had served as an officer she had served in real combat yet he could never know. The scars on her arm were scars from when she had fallen off her pony when she was younger. Every memory of the war she had was being suppressed into a lie.

"What do think of these flowers?" her mother asked her, showing her a vase filled with exotic flowers in the most radiant colors.

"They are flowers, mother," June said turning her head away so her mother could not see her rolling her eyes.

"But what do you think to them? They are a little too much for my taste."

"I could care less," she hissed, disappearing before her mother could reply.

She slipped her arm through Frank's, pulling him slightly away from her father. "You promised me we were going to the fair."

"Let's go then," he said, while her father was still going on about the use of certain aircrafts during the war. Even Frank wanted to escape his pointless discussions about a war that had been won.

"We're leaving, father," June spoke with a fake smile on her face, quickly pulling Frank away before he would be able to start his favorite subject - paratroopers.

"We will be home before dinner!" she shouted towards her mother in the kitchen. She was still examining the vase of flowers.

"Good thing you got me out of there," Frank laughed.

They descended down the steps. The gentleman that he was, Frank opened the door of the car for her.

June climbed on the leather seat, taking in the scent of the still brand new car. Frank inherited his father's fortune which made him a suitable husband for June according to her parents. She was just glad she had managed to fall in love with him.

"One more word about paratroopers and aircrafts and I will go insane."

June chuckled. "I don't understand why he is so interested in them. The armored divisions are much more interesting especially since the German Tiger tanks were so much better than the Sherman's yet we still managed to defeat them."

"We?" Frank asked, raising his eyebrows slightly as he speeded off their curved driveway.

"As in America," she quickly added, realizing she had misspoken herself again. "America managed to defeat them."

"What do you know about tanks anyway?" Frank placed his hand on her knee, giving it a soft squeeze through the fabric.

_Everything_, she wanted to say but instead she said: "I read something about them in the newspaper."

The picturesque countryside quickly changed into an urban cityscape. Grass was traded in for bricks and in the distance she could already spot the fair that was in town that day. It had been ages since she had last been to a fair and she could not wait to relive her youth for a day.

Before stepping out of the car she checked her hair in the rearview mirror and touched up her red lipstick. Frank offered her an arm which she gladly accepted since the road leading to the entrance was muddy and she did not want her heels to get stuck.

"Do you want to go on the ferris wheel?" Frank asked after they had paid the admission fee and were allowed to enter the grounds.

The smell of popcorn filled her nose and all around her she spotted children laughing and running, clutching a balloon in their hand and a soft drink in their other. The rides all looked brand new and the paint was so colorful it almost hurt her eyes. After the dim and grim look of the war this almost looked like a dream.

"You bet," June laughed.

On top of the ferris wheel they could see everything. Frank was absolutely sure he could see June's house from here but she was not convinced, telling him it was Mrs. Alberta's house did not feature a blue roof.

When they got down again he had bought her a bucket of popcorn and for a moment she felt like a true princess. He was so gallant to her and above all kind. Even though their marriage had been more a plan of her mother, she could not help but love him all the same.

Frank insisted he wanted to do a round at the shooting gallery. June watched happily, eating her popcorn, occasionally laughing as he missed the target.  
"As if you can do it better," Frank laughed as he playfully gave her a push.

June knew she could do better. She took the gun into her own hand. It was very light and not like a real gun at all. Its lightness reminded her of her foldable paratroopers gun. What her father would have done to get his hands on such an artifact.

Before pulling the trigger she aimed the very best she could, even taking the direction of the wind into account. Without fail she hit all the three targets. After returning the gun to the man running the stall she took a small bow.

"Thank you, dear," she said sarcastically with a smile on her face as her fiancé did not congratulate her. Instead he watched with his eyes wide.

"How?" he asked as they walked away from the stall.

June threw away her empty box of popcorn, examining the stuffed animal she had won. "You know my dad. Taught me and Daniel how to shoot when we were younger. He never wants to admit I was always better than he was."

Another lie. All the skills she had gained during the war, all the knowledge, the memories. She had created a giant lie around them to keep it hidden. She did not want to lose her parents, not now. When she returned in New York they had picked her up, taken her in and never did they speak another word about the war.

In the beginning June did not like the dismissal of what had been a huge experience for her, but after a while she began to get used to her old life again. She had her old friends back, her old privileges, her old stuff. And then Frank came into the picture and her life seemed to be perfect.

They began to slowly stroll down the fair, taking in the sights and the atmosphere. She had her arm through Frank's arm, leaning on him slightly as she walked.

And then she saw him. He had his hair grown out. Where the sides of his head had been shaven it was now covered in hair. Light stubble covered his jaw and chin. He wore simple clothing instead of the army green she was so used to seeing in him.

June blinked a couple of times, wondering if she was seeing him like she had seen her brother sitting on the bed earlier, but he really seemed to be standing in front of her. Wardaddy was standing in front of her.

Her eyes met his and her heart started to pound. His brows ruffled and his gaze was confused. June hoped he would recognize her. During the war her hair was dirty most of the times and her face covered in dirt. Now she was clean from top to toe, her hair was elaborately styled and her make-up was done impeccably. For the occasion she was wearing one of her finer dresses. She figured she had to look like a completely different person.

Her eyes fell on a woman beside him. She had her arm through Wardaddy's, holding onto him like she was holding on to Frank. June had to admit she was beautiful and the ring on her finger seemed to suggest she was his wife.

They stood still before each other, merely admiring each other. June had never thought she would see him ever again, yet here he was, standing before her. Her heart took a leap with joy. He had survived. He had lived to see the end of the war. She wanted to ask him about Bible, and Norman, and Gordo and Grady. Did they live as well?

But she couldn't. She was with Frank now and he was with his wife. What had happened during the war was something between the two of them. It was something no one would ever find out.

Frank looked down to her, whispering softly. "June, you know it is rude to stare."

She shook with her head. "Oh, right, sorry," she muttered.

Wardaddy's wife also began to examine her, curiously, probably wondering who she was and why her husband was paying such close attention to her.

His eyes met hers again and then with a soft smile he gave a nod. A simple nod. It was all she needed to know. Everyone was alive. Everyone was safely back at home.

Frank began to start walking again. He took June's hand and pulled her forward, slightly annoyed by the fact she was so lost in Wardaddy's eyes.

Not wanting to anger her fiancé she followed his lead, but when she walked past Wardaddy she felt his hand grab hers, squeezing it softly. June felt her face redden and her heart seemed to skip a few beats upon his touch.

Frank dragged her further when she almost forgot how to walk. As they headed to the opposite end of the fair she looked behind her, but Wardaddy had already disappeared among the crowd.

But she knew one thing for certain. June knew she would be seeing him again.

* * *

**A/N:** So. That is it. The end. I would like to thank you all for sticking with me through this story and I can only hope you enjoyed it. Hopefully you enjoyed the ending and you can make up for yourself what happened after that day ;). I am already working on my next fic which will be for the show _Vikings_. Keep an eye out for it if you want to read that as well. Once again, thank you so much for reading this entire fic and please have a lovely day. Maybe I will see you again in the future. Take care!


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